This Fort Worth startup’s product is now on Walgreen shelves across the US

During Art Clapp’s 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry, he often felt like an internal entrepreneur of sorts.

He was responsible for getting new products and ideas on the market, working across product development and different levels of commercialization.

After receiving his master’s degree at TCU, Clapp spent two decades working at the Fort Worth laboratory of Galderma, a Swiss pharmaceutical company and former L’Oreal and Nestle subsidiary. While helping launch Galderma’s billion-dollar brand Cetaphil and other skincare products like Differin Gel to treat acne, Clapp noticed many people moving away from prescription drugs to self-treatment that was just as effective.

When Clapp retired from Galderma as vice president and director of U.S. business development, he began talking with Mike Yankovoy, the company’s former director of financial planning, and Bev Hope, the associate director of marketing. He realized they were all retiring around the same time, so they decided to co-found their own startup.

Clapp and his team wanted to develop products that were safe and effective using their shared industry knowledge of pharmaceutical technology and advanced plant science. They began to model topical solutions for skin conditions that are difficult to treat, backed by help from the Fort Worth-based nonprofit startup accelerator and business incubator TechFW.

“The environment of TechFW made it really easy to cultivate our company,” Clapp said. “It provided a lot of resources like Cowtown Angels here in Fort Worth and other investment groups and helped us take an idea and turn it into a reality.”

Clapp and his team spent two and a half years modeling and testing before launching their company, Nuvothera, in 2019. Along the way, the company presented to tech startup investment group Cowtown Angels and raised more than $2 million in equity funding, according to TechFW. The startup also received funding from Seed Round Capital Ventures and Aggie Angels.

The TechFW graduate has since developed a turmeric-based pill to reduce joint pain and inflammation, and Prosoria, a topical gel and moisturizer to treat symptoms of psoriasis.

Charles Hull, who participated in Nuvothera’s clinical trial, is one of more than 8 million Americans and 125 million people across the world with psoriasis. The 52-year-old was diagnosed with the skin condition in his late 20s and recalled struggling to afford prescribed medicine that cost $1,000 without insurance.

Hull used Prosoria for two to three months and saw his skin clear up completely. Hull said he couldn’t believe it worked for him after decades looking for a solution.

“It’s never come back the way it did before,” said Hull, after describing his psoriasis as “horrible.”

Hull said sometimes small patches of psoriasis would come back later in spurts, but it was never anything as severe as his original condition.

Since developing Prosoria, the product has launched in select CVS HealthHub stores and is available for purchase online. This month, Nuvothera expanded distribution and added Prosoria to Walgreens shelves across the country.

CEO Clapp said Nuvothera has doubled sales every year through its website. Now that the company is in retail, it expects to quadruple its sales in more than 18,000 Walgreens and CVS stores.

Nuvothera’s two-step psoriasis treatment kit starts around $50 and is available for reimbursement with a Flexible Spending Account or Health Savings Account.

“The shear distribution nationally will really help with our success,” Clapp said.

Next, Clapp hopes to expand Nuvothera into Walmart, Target and other big retailers.

“The plan and goal was always to get into large drugstore chains and mass merchandising,” Clapp said. “We’re enjoying it, but it’s always a challenge. It’s different from being in a large company. You’re really wearing multiple hats, but it’s fun to be an entrepreneur.”

Hayden Blackburn, executive director of TechFW, said Nuvothera’s expansion into Walgreens is an example of why Nuvothera is continually shared across TechFW’s membership as one to know and follow.

“Art is a prime example of entrepreneurial perseverance and is a model to many when it comes to truly listening and connecting to the customer while continually building new connections,” Blackburn said.

Clapp’s success with Nuvothera is also a testament to the opportunities within Fort Worth’s entrepreneurship pipeline. Despite living in different parts of the world, Clapp said he thinks Fort Worth is the ideal place for innovation.

“There’s so much infrastructure that’s here,” Clapp said. “I see the DFW area continuing to be a hotbed of growth and innovation. It really spurs it, and it is a really wonderful place to incubate ideas and infrastructure of that nature.”