Company Founded by UW Graduate Named 2020 Innovative Startup by PM360

A company founded by a University of Wyoming graduate was named a “2020 Innovative Startup” by PM360, an online pharma marketing magazine.

Theraneutrics, an innovative biomedical startup working to solve gout through engineered probiotics, was one of eight companies that made PM360’s list last month. Theraneutrics was founded by CEO Christoph Geisler, a 2011 UW Ph.D. graduate in molecular biology.

The PM360 article can be found at www.pm360online.com/pm360-2020-innovative-startup-theraneutrics-llc/.

“Being awarded as one of PM360's top startup Innovators among hundreds of submissions was truly thrilling and a great reward for our hard work,” says James Francis, a UW alumnus and chief development officer at the company. “Startups are challenging, and efforts often go unreceived. This is a great reminder for us to keep moving forward and stay focused.” 

The company, incorporated in October 2018, is engineering Krystalase, a patent-pending probiotic yeast strain that would break down uric acid in the gut. Excessive uric acid levels are the root cause of gout.

Approximately 34.5 million people worldwide, including 9.2 million people in the United States, suffer from gout, an excruciatingly painful condition in which needle-like uric acid crystals form in joints.

Theraneutrics became a client of the IMPACT 307 (formerly the Wyoming Technology Business Center) business incubator in Laramie in August 2019.

“While the rest of the world was trying to navigate the harsh reality of 2020, Theraneutrics was able to make an opportunity out of it,” says Francis, who graduated from UW with a bachelor’s and master’s degree, as well as an MBA. “We worked long hours in 2020 to see growth in understanding our customer better, brainstorming valuable tools and resources to give them as support, and pushing forward on business development.”