Imagine if, rather than waiting for illness to strike, we could fortify our own protective mechanism and make disease far less likely. We might spare ourselves much pain, say goodbye to endless pills and expensive treatments, and dramatically shrink our medical bills. Halia Therapeutics does this by championing genetic resilience with clinical biotechnology. With presence spanning Utah, Masdar City, and Abu Dhabi, Halia is developing precision medicines enabled by deep genomic insights, state-of-the-art biomarker platforms, and a bold vision to redefine human healthspan.
Knowing Halia Therapeutics
A clinical-stage biotechnology company, Halia Therapeutics, is pioneering medicines that mimic genetic resilience, the naturally occurring protective mechanisms allowing individuals to remain healthy despite carrying high-risk genetic or environmental factors. “Our work focuses on the inflammasome, neuroinflammation, and chronic metabolic disease, with a pipeline of first-in-class small molecules designed to prevent and reverse disease by targeting its root biological drivers rather than merely treating symptoms,” clarifies Dr. David J. Bearss, President.
Innovation and Genetic Resilience
Integrating population-scale genomics, single-cell biology, and AI-driven molecular modeling, Halia uncovers why specific individuals stay healthy despite possessing the identical risk alleles that cause disease in others. Comparing high-risk individuals who never progress to disease with those who do, Halia identifies protective variants, modifier genes, and inflammation-buffering mechanisms. Traditionally used only in academic research, this approach is fully integrated into the company’s drug discovery engine, guiding the identification of new targets and validating the resilience pathways that it aims to activate therapeutically.
Contribution to Medicine
Halia’s specialization lies in the development of small-molecule drugs that modulate the body’s innate immune response and metabolic signaling systems to slow, prevent, or reverse chronic diseases. Some of the company’s lead programs include NEK7/NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors for myelodysplastic syndromes, metabolic inflammation, and chronic pain; LRRK2 inhibitors for Alzheimer’s prevention; and emerging therapies targeting chronic cardiometabolic inflammation. Halia uses translational biomarkers, genetic insights, and mechanistic precision across all programs to ensure that the right biological process is engaged in the right patient population.
Excelling Tech-Based Innovation
The proprietary resilience-mapping platform, GENMOR-AI™, is a revolutionary tech-based innovation of the company that has transformed the field of genomic research. By leveraging this platform, Halia analyzes enormous datasets, including whole-genome sequencing, proteomics, and longitudinal clinical records, to identify networks of genes that modify disease expression.
Its models detect resilience patterns in families and divergence from inherited genetic risk. GENMOR-AI™ integrates AI-driven causal inference, resilience-focused GWAS, and polygenic protection scoring, network biology for pathway convergence, and machine learning for druggability prediction. This approach creates a living atlas of human resilience, directly feeding into Halia’s therapeutic pipeline.
Programs that are Making a Difference
The following programs directly test the idea that activating protective pathways and silencing disease-amplifying genetics can significantly alter disease trajectories.
HT-6184 (NEK7/NLRP3 inhibitor)
- Demonstrated hematologic improvement in lower-risk MDS.
- Shows the ability to shut down chronic inflammatory signaling—one of the strongest drivers of genetic risk expression across multiple diseases.
- Being evaluated for obesity-associated metabolic inflammation and glycemic control.
HT-4253 (LRRK2 inhibitor)
- Targets a key inflammatory-genetic pathway linked to Alzheimer’s disease, especially in APOE4 carriers.
- Part of a first-of-its-kind precision trial enrolling APOE4 homozygotes mobilized through the Emirati Genome Program.
Revolutionizing the Future of Genetic Resilience
GENMOR-AI™ is an AI-powered engine designed to identify the biological equivalents of “genetic armor.” Instead of focusing solely on what causes disease, it identifies what protects against it. The platform integrates more than 25 years of proprietary protein–ligand interaction data, resilience GWAS, perturbation biology, and molecular simulations to the following:
- Predict optimal drug-target combinations.
- Identify resilience-modifying nodes in biological pathways.
- Generate new therapeutic hypotheses with a higher probability of clinical success.
- Accelerate drug design through validated AI-led molecular modeling.
Innovation: A Cultural Expectation
For Dr. David J. Bearss, innovation means challenging assumptions, embracing data even when it disrupts conventional thinking, and constantly pushing scientific boundaries. At Halia, innovation is not a department; it is a cultural expectation. “We foster a culture of transparency, scientific rigor, and humility, where ideas are tested quickly, failures are learned from immediately, and successes are scaled rapidly,” mentions Dr. Bearss. Teams at Halia are encouraged to question dogma, seek unconventional insights, and work collaboratively across computational biology, medicinal chemistry, immunology, and clinical science.
To Be ‘the’ Genetic Resilience Company
The future of medicine and medicinal research includes the rise of genetic resilience as a new framework for understanding disease, integration of multi-omics into early clinical development, AI-accelerated drug discovery in setting standards, transition from treatment to prevention in chronic disease management, and the globalization of clinical research, with the Middle East emerging as a new hub for innovation. Intending to lead the future by being the Genetic Resilience Company, utilizing AI, genomics, and first-in-class small molecules, Halia aims to transform humanity’s approach to chronic disease and aging.
An Introduction to Dr. David J. Bearss
Dr. David J. Bearss, PhD, is the Co-Founder and CEO of Halia Therapeutics and a veteran drug developer with over 25 years of experience translating discovery science into impactful medicines. A cell biologist by training, he has founded or led multiple biotechnology companies, contributed to the development of 18 clinical-stage therapeutics, authored over 100 scientific publications, and holds more than 75 patents.
His leadership philosophy centers on scientific courage, integrity, and the belief that modern medicine should not only extend life but fundamentally improve how we live it. Dr. Bearss is driving Halia’s mission to harness the science of genetic resilience to pioneer next-generation treatments for chronic inflammatory, neurodegenerative, and metabolic diseases.
“GENMOR-AI™ shifts the paradigm from treating illness to engineering resilience, enabling a future where chronic diseases can be prevented rather than managed.”
— Dr. David J. Bearss, President
