Catalyzing Development of Best-in-class Treatment for Patients with Gout
Crystalys Therapeutics (“Crystalys”) is a private, late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company co-founded by Catalys Pacific and Novo Holdings to pioneer the development of best-in-class treatment for patients suffering with gout. Crystalys’ current efforts are centered on bringing Dotinurad, an urate transporter (“URAT1”) inhibitor approved in Japan, to patients outside of Japan experiencing inadequate response to urate lowering therapies (“ULT”).
- Novo Holdings
- SR One
- Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Funds
- Lightstone Ventures
- AN Venture Partners
- abrdn Inc.
- KB Investments
- Pontifax
- Longwood Fund
- Alexandria Venture Investments
- Wedbush Healthcare Partners
- Prebys Ventures Fund
Three Questions Answered
Dotinurad has been developed to address the inadequate response to current ULT. Gout occurs when the body excretes too little or produces too much uric acid, causing build-up, crystal formations, and inflammation. The primary cause for gout is the lack of excretion of uric acid, which the current standard of care is inadequate in addressing.
Dotinurad functions by reducing the reabsorption of uric acid in the kidneys and promoting its excretion in urine, thereby controlling the levels of uric acid in the body. Dotinurad has a best-in-class efficacy and safety profile, and it has successfully treated more than 1,200,000 patients in Japan since commercial launch in 2020 in Japan, along with further approvals in China and Thailand in 2024 and in Philippines in 2025. Dotinurad has the potential to change the current treatment paradigm of gout in the US and EU.
We found significant value in partnering with Catalys Pacific to bring Dotinurad to patients outside of Japan. By creating Crystalys alongside a syndicate of global investors, Catalys Pacific has successfully combined experts in new company formation with world-class professionals that bring extensive gout drug development and regulatory approval experience with URAT1 inhibitors. From the outset it was clear that Crystalys has the expertise to rapidly advance Dotinurad to enable patients with gout to have access to this best-in-class treatment as quickly as possible, leveraging the Asia programs to move directly into Phase 3 trials in the US and EU. We are confident that this unique transpacific collaboration has the potential to change the lives of patients suffering from gout in the US and EU.
Biotech is a clear driving force for innovation globally, as evidenced by the growing number of new active substances being developed. Japan plays a leading role for top-quality R&D of innovative drugs globally, but it has yet to fully leverage the power of partnerships with global venture capital, in part because of its underdeveloped biotech ecosystem. Catalys Pacific exemplifies a promising model for positive change, and we hope that, through various alliance models, medicines from Japan will become a hopeful option for patients around the world.
