Seattle, WA — June 21, 2025, Kayothera, Inc., a preclinical-stage therapeutics company pioneering first-in-class, oral inhibitors of the retinoid nuclear receptor pathway, today announced that it has been recognized as one of the winners of the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) prestigious Innovation Challenge. The award highlights the company’s groundbreaking approach to addressing the root causes of type 2 diabetes and positions its first-in-class therapy as a potential game-changer for patients diagnosed with or at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The ADA’s Innovation Challenge seeks to accelerate the path from concept to commercialization for novel ideas with the potential to transform diabetes care. Kayothera’s presentation focused on its proprietary approach to inhibit the retinoid nuclear receptor pathway, a signaling mechanism that has been clinically validated to play a significant role in chronic cardiometabolic and cardiovascular diseases, including type 2 diabetes.
Kayothera’s pipeline is based on extensive preclinical research findings that show antagonists of this nuclear receptor pathway could offer compelling new therapeutic options for high-need patients. This work was validated in a recent study published in Nature Communications, which demonstrated that inhibiting the enzyme Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1a3 (ALDH1A3)—a key component of the retinoid nuclear receptor pathway—can reverse β cell failure in diabetic preclinical models and human β cells. The research showed that targeting ALDH1A3 not only lowers blood glucose levels but also reactivates β cell differentiation and regeneration, addressing the underlying pancreatic decline associated with type 2 diabetes.
“We are honored to be selected as a winner of the ADA Innovation Challenge,” said Dr. Esposito. “This recognition is a powerful validation of our belief that targeting the retinoid nuclear receptor pathway offers a novel, disease-modifying approach to treat type 2 diabetes. We are committed to advancing our therapies with the goal of providing patients with a medicine that can restore pancreatic function and reverse the ever-increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the United States.”
This award underscores Kayothera’s commitment to developing safe and effective therapies that go beyond symptom management to treat the fundamental mechanisms of type 2 diabetes pathology.
- ADA – 2025 Innovation Challenge
- The American Diabetes Association Announces Winners of the Innovation Challenge to Transform Diabetes Care
About Kayothera. Kayothera, Inc. is an early-stage therapeutics company focused on the development of first-in-class, oral, small-molecule inhibitors of the retinoid nuclear receptor pathway. This pathway is pathogenically activated in several cancers as well as multiple cardiometabolic diseases, including diabetes and obesity. Kayothera is developing three distinct therapies, with KAYO-1732 in development as a disease-modifying treatment that controls blood glucose and lipid levels to prevent multiorgan degeneration in cardiometabolic syndrome and diabetes. KAYO-1609 has completed IND-enabling studies and is in development to treat late-stage and metastatic cancers, including pancreatic, prostate, gastric, and multiple other cancers. Kayothera is also developing a next-generation obesity therapy based on a genetically validated target in the retinoid nuclear receptor pathway. The company was founded based on discoveries from Dr. Mark Esposito’s post-doctoral research at Princeton University and Professor Yibin Kang, PhD. For more information, visit www.kayothera.com.