D-0120, a Novel Oral Selective Uric Acid Transporter Inhibitor, at the 2020 EULAR Online Meeting

It seems that we never have enough different drugs to lower hyperuricemia for the individual patient. Lesinurad is an oral selective uric acid transporter (URAT1) inhibitor, which has both FDA (2015) and EMA (2016) approval and is on the market under the brand name of Zurampic, but isn't sold in Germany for instance [1]. Now comes D-0120, a novel oral selective uric acid transporter (URAT1) inhibitor with one study at the 2020 EULAR Online Meeting. Will there be a market for such a drug?

L. Zhang presented the following study [2]: „OP0205 PHASE I STUDY OF D-0120, A NOVEL URAT1 INHIBITOR IN CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT FOR HYPERURICEMIA AND GOUT“. Daily oral D-0120, at dose levels from 2.5 mg/day to 20 mg/day in 32 healthy volunteers for 7 days was well tolerated. The pharmacokinetics profile demonstrated a dose proportional increase. There had been a significant reduction of serum uric acid levels.

Will there be a market for D-0120? D-0120 showed in a cell model a 150-fold more potent inhibitory activity than lesinurad, which might result in less side effects (hope and speculation!). This might be the pivotal point to go on studying D-0120. There will be patients needing an oral selective uric acid transporter (URAT1) inhibitor, but will there be enough patients to support the another drug of the kind that we already have?

Nevertheless I hope that studies go on and that D-0120 will come to market. That will take some years. In the mean time lesinurad should be available on the German market.

Links and References:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesinurad

[2] L. Zhang1, D. Wyatt2, K. Stazzone1, Z. Shi1, Y. Wang1. OP0205 PHASE I STUDY OF D-0120, A NOVEL URAT1 INHIBITOR IN CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT FOR HYPERURICEMIA AND GOUT. DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-eular.5107

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