Halia Therapeutics Announces First Participant Dosed in Phase 1 Clinical Study of HT-6184, a Novel NEK7/NLRP3 Inhibitor

SALT LAKE CITY, June 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Halia Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering and developing small molecule therapeutics to treat inflammatory diseases, today announced that the first participant in a Phase 1 clinical study has been dosed with HT-6184, a novel small molecule inhibitor of NEK7 and the NLRP3 pathway. HT-6184 is the lead molecule from Halia's structure-based drug design strategy, which has produced a pipeline of novel drug candidates targeting essential mediators of inflammation with the potential to treat a number of diseases, including heart disease, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, many cancers, fatty liver diseases, inflammatory bowel disorders, and other conditions linked to chronic inflammation.

"Leveraging our deep insight into the NLRP3 inflammasome biology, we specifically designed HT-6184 with a novel mechanism of action to allosterically target NEK7, a key component of the NLRP3 complex," said Dr. David J. Bearss, President and CEO of Halia Therapeutics. "HT-6184 is part of a new class of compounds that target both NLRP3 priming and assembly, and we are excited to have advanced HT-6184 into the clinic and look forward to exploring its potential to treat diseases driven by chronic inflammation. We believe that, by inhibiting NLRP3 signaling through allosteric NEK7 targeting, we can shut down an important driver of chronic inflammation implicated in a number of major diseases."

Jared Bearss, Halia's COO added, "Our novel approach to block NLRP3 inflammasone signaling may lead to significant new treatments for patients suffering from inflammatory diseases, and we look forward to progressing multiple programs to the clinic from our pipeline of novel compounds that target the NLRP3 signaling pathway."

The Phase 1 trial is a single-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, single ascending dose study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of HT-6184 in up to 32 healthy human participants.

NLRP3 acts as an essential downstream effector of signals that trigger inflammatory responses and has been implicated in driving the onset and progression of many chronic inflammatory diseases, including fibrotic, dermatological, and rheumatological diseases. NLRP3 activation also drives significant neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis. Activation of NLRP3 triggers the release of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-1β and IL-18, and induces a lytic cell death process called pyroptosis. Halia's therapeutic inhibition of NLRP3 signaling, via NEK7, prevents the formation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and can promote the disassembly once formed, thereby suppressing the production and release of IL-1β and IL-18.

Halia Therapeutics is discovering and developing novel therapeutics to improve the lives of patients with inflammatory disorders and neurological diseases. Halia scientists have made fundamental discoveries of inflammatory pathways associated with disease progression, and the company applies this knowledge to identify novel targets and discover new drug candidates to resolve the underlying causes of inflammation that drive disease. Halia is advancing a pipeline of innovative medicines that resolve chronic inflammation and eliminate the damage caused by aberrantly activated immune responses. Halia is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more info, visit www.haliatherapeutics.com.

Company Contact: Andi Groen, [email protected], +1.385.355.4315
Media Contact: Jessica Yingling, Ph.D., Little Dog Communications Inc., [email protected], +1.858.344.8091

SOURCE Halia Therapeutics