Crystalys Therapeutics has raised $130 million in a Series B financing to push its gout drug, dotinurad, through late-stage clinical testing in the United States and Europe.
Dotinurad is designed to lower uric acid by inhibiting URAT1, a transporter protein that helps regulate uric acid levels in the body. Elevated uric acid is the underlying driver of gout, a painful and increasingly common form of inflammatory arthritis. The company says the funding will support ongoing Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies.
A drug with a track record abroad
The therapy is not new to the clinic. Dotinurad was originally discovered by Japanese drugmaker Fuji Yakuhin and approved in Japan in 2020, with subsequent clearances in China, the Philippines, and Thailand. Crystalys acquired the U.S. and European rights in 2024 and is now working to bring it to Western markets, where it would compete with long-standing options such as allopurinol and Amgen’s Krystexxa.
“This financing strengthens our ability to advance our trials and positions Crystalys to achieve multiple important clinical and regulatory milestones,” said chief executive James Mackay.
The round drew a deep syndicate, led by Frazier Life Sciences and joined by Wellington Management, Cormorant Asset Management, SR One, Novo Holdings, and more than 20 additional firms.
Why it matters
Gout affects millions and is often poorly controlled with existing therapies, leaving room for new options that lower uric acid through different mechanisms. Backing a drug already approved elsewhere is a comparatively de-risked strategy — the science is established; the task now is confirming it for U.S. and European regulators.