Olatec Therapeutics Adds Two Clinical Experts to Support Dapansutrile Development

Caroline Williams-Gray and David Haase Join Olatec's Clinical Leadership Teams

Olatec Therapeutics has added two physicians and clinical researchers to its leadership and advisory teams as the company continues developing dapansutrile, an investigational oral medicine that targets the NLRP3 inflammasome.

Caroline Williams-Gray, BMBCh MA(Cantab) FRCP(UK) PhD, has joined Olatec's Clinical Advisory Board.

David Haase, MD, FABFM, DABIoM, FMCP-M, CNS, QIA, has joined both the company's Board of Directors and Clinical Advisory Board.

Both appointments add clinical experience in areas that are relevant to Olatec's ongoing research, including Parkinson's disease, chronic inflammation, metabolic dysfunction and cognitive decline.

What Is NLRP3?

NLRP3 is part of the body's innate immune system. It is involved in controlling inflammatory responses.

Inflammation is a normal part of the immune system's response to injury or infection. However, when inflammation becomes chronic or remains active when it is no longer needed, it can contribute to disease.

Olatec is developing medicines that specifically target the NLRP3 inflammasome, with the aim of reducing harmful inflammation while allowing normal immune functions to continue.

The company's lead drug, dapansutrile, is an oral NLRP3 inhibitor being studied in several diseases.

Caroline Williams-Gray Brings Parkinson's Disease Expertise

Dr. Caroline Williams-Gray has worked with Olatec since 2023 through the company's Parkinson's disease program.

She currently serves as Chief Investigator of the Phase 2 DAPA-PD study of dapansutrile at the University of Cambridge's Department of Clinical Neurosciences.

The trial is now enrolling people with early Parkinson's disease.

DAPA-PD is sponsored by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge. It is funded by Cure Parkinson's and the Van Andel Institute through the International Linked Clinical Trials program.

The iLCT program selected dapansutrile as its NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor in 2022.

According to Olatec, DAPA-PD is currently the longest clinical study evaluating a selective NLRP3 inhibitor in Parkinson's disease.

Why NLRP3 Is Being Studied in Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is commonly associated with problems involving movement, but researchers are also studying the role of inflammation and the immune system in how the disease progresses.

Dr. Williams-Gray has spent much of her research career studying the differences between patients with Parkinson's disease and the role of inflammation and immunity in the disease.

She leads a translational research group focused on these areas at the University of Cambridge.

Her work includes studying how immune activity may influence Parkinson's disease progression and how this biology could be targeted with new treatments.

Dr. Williams-Gray's Clinical Background

Dr. Williams-Gray is a Clinical Research Professor in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge.

She is also an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust and The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, where she specializes in movement disorders.

She completed her medical training at Cambridge University and Oxford Clinical School in the UK.

She received her PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2008 and later completed a Clinical Lectureship in Neurology.

She was subsequently awarded a Medical Research Council Clinician Scientist Fellowship.

For approximately a decade, she has led research focused on inflammation and immunity in Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Williams-Gray Sees Potential in NLRP3 Inhibition

Dr. Williams-Gray said there is increasing evidence that immune activation may influence the progression of Parkinson's disease.

She believes the ability of dapansutrile to specifically inhibit NLRP3 makes it an interesting approach for further research.

Her expanded role with Olatec will allow her to continue working with the company on dapansutrile in Parkinson's disease and potentially other neurological conditions.

David Haase Joins the Board of Directors

Dr. David Haase has joined Olatec's Board of Directors and Clinical Advisory Board.

His relationship with Olatec began in early 2026.

He brings more than 25 years of clinical practice and research experience in patient populations relevant to Olatec's dapansutrile development programs.

His clinical experience includes chronic inflammatory diseases, metabolic dysfunction and cognitive decline.

These areas are relevant to Olatec because NLRP3 is involved in inflammatory signaling associated with several chronic diseases.

Dr. Haase's Work in Personalized Medicine

Dr. Haase is the Founder and Medical Director of MaxWell Clinic in Brentwood, Tennessee.

He established the clinic in 2003 as a personalized systems medicine practice.

The clinic has focused on therapeutic plasma exchange and has treated different patient populations, including people experiencing cognitive decline.

Dr. Haase is also the Chief Executive Officer of EverBetter LLC, a company developing a health data management system.

Dr. Haase Has Experience Across Several Medical Fields

Dr. Haase received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

He completed his Family Medicine residency at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

He is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine.

He also holds the Qualification in Apheresis and serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Foundational and Clinical Sciences at the Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine at Belmont University.

For more than two decades, he has also taught practicing clinicians through the Institute for Functional Medicine.

Dr. Haase serves on scientific advisory boards and boards of directors across biotechnology, diagnostics, therapeutics and clinical nutrition.

He is also a shareholder in Olatec.

Dr. Haase Focuses on the Biology Behind Chronic Disease

Dr. Haase said his clinical work often involves treating the effects of diseases after they have developed, including memory loss, metabolic disease and vascular damage.

He said his interest is also focused on understanding biological processes that may occur earlier in disease development.

According to Dr. Haase, NLRP3 is positioned within inflammatory pathways that are involved in several diseases.

He believes dapansutrile's specific targeting of NLRP3 could allow the drug to be studied across multiple conditions where chronic inflammation plays a role.

He also pointed to the drug's oral administration and safety findings from clinical studies as reasons for continuing its development.

Dapansutrile Is Being Studied Across Multiple Diseases

Dapansutrile is Olatec's proprietary oral NLRP3 inhibitor.

The drug is designed to specifically inhibit the NLRP3 inflammasome, which is an important regulator of the body's innate inflammatory response.

Olatec is studying dapansutrile in both acute and chronic inflammatory diseases.

The company's development strategy focuses on testing the drug in clearly defined patient populations and using clinical endpoints that can measure whether treatment produces meaningful effects.

The studies also include measurements of NLRP3-related biology and disease activity.

Dapansutrile Is Being Studied in Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is one of the current clinical areas for dapansutrile.

The Phase 2 DAPA-PD study is evaluating the drug in people with early Parkinson's disease.

The study is being conducted through the University of Cambridge's neuroscience program.

The research is intended to provide clinical information about whether targeting NLRP3 can affect disease-related outcomes in people with Parkinson's disease.

The addition of Dr. Williams-Gray to Olatec's Clinical Advisory Board expands the company's direct clinical expertise in this area.

Other Clinical Programs Are Also Underway

Olatec is studying dapansutrile in several other disease areas.

Current clinical programs include gout, type 2 diabetes, advanced melanoma and Parkinson's disease.

The company has previously reported clinical experience with dapansutrile, including a Phase 2a study in acute gout.

According to Olatec, the drug has shown a favorable safety profile in clinical studies conducted so far.

The company is continuing to evaluate whether NLRP3 inhibition can produce meaningful effects in diseases associated with chronic or uncontrolled inflammation.

Olatec Wants to Target Inflammation Without Broad Immune Suppression

One of the key ideas behind dapansutrile is selective targeting.

Many medicines that reduce inflammation can also affect broader parts of the immune system. Olatec is developing dapansutrile with the goal of specifically blocking NLRP3 while preserving normal immune function.

This approach is being evaluated through longer-duration clinical studies.

The company wants to understand whether blocking NLRP3 can safely produce disease-modifying effects when the drug is used over an extended period.

Olatec Expands Its Clinical and Scientific Leadership

Damaris B. Skouras, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Olatec Therapeutics, said the appointments of Dr. Williams-Gray and Dr. Haase add further depth to the company's Board of Directors and Clinical Advisory Board.

According to Olatec, their involvement reflects growing scientific interest in NLRP3 as a potential target across different disease areas.

Their clinical backgrounds also support the company's ongoing work with dapansutrile in neurological, inflammatory and metabolic conditions.

What Happens Next for Dapansutrile?

The DAPA-PD Phase 2 study is continuing to enroll patients with early Parkinson's disease.

At the same time, Olatec is advancing clinical programs evaluating dapansutrile in gout, type 2 diabetes and advanced melanoma.

The company plans to continue using clinical studies to evaluate both the safety of dapansutrile and whether NLRP3 inhibition can produce meaningful changes in disease activity.

More clinical data from these programs will help determine the future development path of dapansutrile across the different conditions being studied.