Halia Therapeutics – Eliminating Chronic Inflammation by Targeting the NLRP3 Inflammasome

Dr. David Bearss, PhD, President and CEO at Halia Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharma company developing novel therapies to improve the lives of patients with inflammatory disorders and neurological diseases discusses the company’s lead compound, HT-6184, which prevents the formation of the NLRP3 inflammasome complex and subsequently inhibits the production and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines to ultimately shut down chronic inflammation. Halia is currently conducting a Phase 1 trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of HT-6184 in healthy human participants.

Dr. David J. Bearss is an experienced entrepreneur and drug developer with 20 plus years experience in the academic and industry settings. He is an expert in small molecule drug development and in the use of genetic model systems in drug discovery and has deep experience in translational research focused on drug development and the use of genetic markers to predict drug sensitivity. Dave has discovered 15 compounds that have had INDs accepted and moved forward in clinical development and has been a founder of eight biotech companies.

Prior to becoming Halia’s CEO in March 2022 and Chief Scientific Officer in January 2021, Dave was the CEO of Tolero Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma in 2017. He also served as Chief Scientific Officer at Montigen Pharmaceuticals and SuperGen Inc., overseeing early drug discovery and development. He was the founding Co-Director of the Center for Investigational Therapeutics at the Huntsman Cancer Institute; Associate Professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences at the University of Utah; and Associate Professor of Physiology & Developmental Biology at Brigham Young University. Dave received a PhD in cellular biology from University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX.