Meeting unmet needs: new treatments for gout race in the clinic
About half the people with gout don't have treatments that work for them. New drugs in the clinic could address this underserved population. The post Meeting unmet needs: new treatments for gout race in the clinic appeared first on Labiotech.eu . © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author…
Approximately half of the individuals living with gout do not experience relief from available treatments. Although standard care addresses some patients, many continue suffering from gout flares due to ineffective anti-inflammatory drugs that target the root cause. Several biotechnology companies are conducting clinical trials to reintroduce drugs previously abandoned due to commercial setbacks.
One such company, Crystalys Therapeutics, recently secured $130 million in funding to develop a new treatment. Gout is an inflammatory condition resulting from excessive uric acid in the bloodstream, leading to uric acid crystal formation in the joints called tophi, causing pain and swelling. Globally, over 6 million new cases of gout were recorded in 2021 among individuals aged 15 to 64.
Men are more susceptible due to higher uric acid levels. Gout treatment typically involves two approaches: managing acute flares with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and corticosteroids, and addressing the root cause through long-term urate-lowering therapy. Allopurinol, the standard urate-lowering therapy, inhibits the enzyme xanthine oxidase, reducing the conversion of hypoxanthine and xanthine into uric acid.
However, both allopurinol and febuxostat are only effective for around half of the patients, leaving 50% untreated. Alternative options, such as probenecid and intravenous uricase therapy, have limitations, such as a short duration of action and potential drug interactions. Crystalys Therapeutics' URAT1 inhibitor, dotinurad, is being developed to bridge this gap by addressing the kidney's handling of uric acid.
Dotinurad, a once-daily oral medication, prevents urate transporter 1 (URAT1) from reabsorbing uric acid back into the bloodstream, allowing it to be excreted in urine. This unique mechanism differentiates dotinurad from xanthine oxidase inhibitors, which lower uric acid levels by reducing its production. The Phase 2 and 3 trials of dotinurad aim to find an effective oral second-line option for patients unresponsive to or intolerant of existing first-line therapies.
Crystalys Therapeutics is pursuing regulatory approval in the U.S. and Europe, with prior clearances in Japan and China.
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