Marc Y. Donath MD Appointed to Olatec’s Clinical Advisory Board

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Olatec Therapeutics, Inc., a leader in the developing class of selective NLRP3 inhibitors, today announced that long-time collaborator and advisor, Prof. Dr. Marc Donath, has joined the Company’s Clinical Advisory Board (CAB). Dr. Donath, a renowned immuno-endocrinologist, has been recently elected as Medical Director of the Diabetes Centre at the University Hospital Montreal, Canada and is Chief Physician in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Basel, Switzerland. 

Dr. Donath is globally recognized for his pioneering contributions to immunometabolism, particularly his discovery of the inflammatory process underlying type 2 diabetes (T2D). In addition, he has made numerous contributions to the concept that the innate immune system is an integral component in the regulation of metabolism, also known as immunometabolism.

Prof. Dr. Donath stated that, “I am honored to join Olatec’s CAB and expand my long-time collaboration with the Company. Their cutting-edge clinical research with their specific NLRP3 inhibitor, dapansutrile, has the potential to address a large unmet need for an effective and convenient oral treatment of T2D that goes beyond glycemic control by addressing the underlying inflammatory component of the disease and its cardiometabolic complications.”

Dr. Donath’s scientific and clinical conviction is that the modulation of the innate immune system with an anti-inflammatory, such as dapansutrile, has the potential to improve overall metabolic health and reduce cardiovascular risk in patients with T2D. Beginning with his input on the design of Olatec’s heart failure trial, Olatec captured the first ever clinical data showing that targeting NLRP3 with dapansutrile resulted in significant reductions in fasting glucose in patients with T2D. This ground-breaking human data led to the selection of dapansutrile to be studied in the current clinical trial called DAPAN-DIA, as well as obtaining funding from the INTERCEPT-T2D initiative by the European Union under their Horizon Europe Programme (GA No 101095433). Support is also being provided by the Swiss Government. DAPAN-DIA is a Phase 2 randomized targeting to enroll up to 300 patients with T2D mellitus and diabetes-related complications. DAPAN-DIA aims to evaluate dapansutrile’s ability to improve glycemic control, reduce systemic inflammation, and lower cardiometabolic risks, including weight loss. It represents the first T2D clinical trial of a selective NLRP3 inhibitor.

Reflecting on Prof. Dr. Donath’s appointment, Olatec’s CEO & Chairman, Damaris B. Skouras said: “We welcome Marc on our CAB and are looking forward to his expanded collaboration and continued invaluable contributions to the advancement of dapansutrile in T2D and other chronic metabolic diseases.”

About Olatec Therapeutics, Inc.
Olatec is a clinical stage biotech company at the forefront of an emerging class of innovative, oral inflammation therapeutics. The Company’s lead drug candidate, dapansutrile, is a proprietary specific NLRP3 inhibitor. We have advanced dapansutrile from discovery to its current later-stage clinical development in arthritis, diabetes, neuroinflammatory diseases and cancer. Dapansutrile is positioned to become a breakthrough treatment with early human data showing its potential to safely modulate the body’s immune system allowing for the restoration of immune balance, a necessary step to treat or prevent disease progression and prognosis in patients. Our preclinical and clinical studies have been published in top medical and scientific journals such as The LancetProceedings of National Academy of Sciences, and Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology. On the strength of dapansutrile’s benign safety profile and robust clinical data, our clinical trials are now being conducted in well-known international centers of excellence such as Duke Cancer Institute in collaboration with Merckthe rheumatology department at NYU Langonethe neurosciences clinic at the University of Cambridge, and the immuno-endocrinology department at the University of Basel. Our mission is to translate scientific potential into medical practice and become best-in-class in treating chronic inflammation that drives disease progression with a cost-effective and patient-friendly (orally dosed) therapeutic.

About Dapansutrile
Dapansutrile (lab code: OLT1177®) is an investigational small molecule, new chemical entity that specifically binds to and blocks NLRP3 (nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain [NOD]‑, leucine rich repeat-, pyrin domain-containing 3), the sensor molecule integral in the formation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Inflammasomes are multiprotein complexes involved in intracellular surveillance of danger signals that trigger an intense inflammatory response, via generation of bioactive IL-1β and IL-18 through caspase-1 activation. Dapansutrile has been shown to prevent the formation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, which in turn inhibits the production of IL-1β and IL‑18. Dapansutrile’s clinical and preclinical studies have been extensively published. For a complete list of Olatec’s original publications, click here.