Sobi plans to buy Arthrosi Therapeutics, a Phase 3 gout biotech, for $950 million upfront and as much as $550 million in additional milestones, the Swedish drugmaker
said
Saturday.
The Arthrosi acquisition arrives just two months after the seven-year-old biotech disclosed a
$153 million Series E
to complete two late-stage tests of pozdeutinurad, its experimental URAT1 inhibitor. At the time, Arthrosi said it expected the trials to read out in the second quarter of 2026.
After a bleak few years, the biopharma industry has been enjoying a surge in M&A over the past few quarters, including deals for
Bluejay
,
Halda
and
Cidara
announced in recent weeks.
With the deal, Sobi will buy into a brewing competition in the URAT1 space. Sobi CEO Guido Oelkers said the drug “has the potential to materially accelerate our growth until the mid 2030s, and beyond.”
The URAT1 field heated up this fall, with Arthrosi’s raise and another megaround from fellow San Diego biotech Crystalys Therapeutics. Crystalys unveiled with a
$205 million Series A
and two Phase 3 trials of dotinurad, which is approved in Japan, China and a few other countries in Asia.
Both companies are working on URAT1 medicines that, in people with gout, aim to tamp down on serum urate levels. Urate crystals can form in joints, especially the big toe, when too much uric acid builds up in the blood. Patients experience intense pain and inflammation.
“We believe that Sobi’s global expertise in commercialisation will accelerate our shared mission to deliver pozdeutinurad’s potentially transformative benefits for individuals living with gout,” Arthrosi CEO and founder Litain Yeh said in a statement.
Also for gout, Sobi has a drug before the FDA with a
June 27
action date. That drug is called nanoecapsulated sirolimus plus pegadricase (NASP), formerly known as
SEL-212
.
Sobi anticipates the Arthrosi deal will close in the first half of 2026.