08:09 AM EDT, 08/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- XORTX Therapeutics ( XRTX ) jumped 62% on Thursday in New York premarket trading after the company said that recent peer-reviewed, independent, published research shows genetic factors are linked to the over-expression of xanthine oxidase (XO) and play a role in several diseases, including kidney disease.

The findings support the company's approach to treating kidney and other diseases by inhibiting XO. XORTX sponsored discoveries in rodent models of polycystic kidney disease (PKD) indicate over-expression or over-activity of XO is a potentially important target in treating the disease.

While definitive evidence for over-expression of XO in human PKD has not been reported to date, new discoveries link genetic factors to specific populations and show that higher XO expression is associated with a variety of conditions, including PKD, and kidney failure.

"The combination of pioneering research in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) sponsored by XORTX and these peer-reviewed, published research papers support our belief that pharmacologic targeting of XO holds enormous therapeutic potential, specifically where increased XO activity is associated with non-diabetic or diabetic kidney diseases," said CEO Allen Davidoff. "These discoveries highlight an opportunity to develop a personalized therapeutic approach for individuals whose unique genetic factors predisposed them to disease, and the need for xanthine oxidase inhibition to treat those individuals at risk. "

XORTX'S planned clinical trial in patients with ADPKD will test XORLO, its formulation of oxypurinol, and will provide an opportunity to better understand the role of these genetic factors in individuals with PKD.