Halia: Leveraging RAB10 as a new lens on the NLRP3 inflammasome

Halia has a new take on drugging the NLRP3 inflammasome that centers on exploiting RAB10 biology to control inflammasome assembly. The company, which is developing therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, myelodysplastic syndromes and pain, has raised a total of $59 million from entrepreneur Todd Pedersen and undisclosed investors. 

Halia Therapeutics Inc. CEO David Bearss told BioCentury that the company was founded to target the GTPase RAB10 for Alzheimer’s disease after scientific co-founder John “Keoni” Kauwe III published a study in 2017 showing that a genetic variant of the protein protected individuals with the high-risk APOE4 allele from developing the disease. Knockdown of RAB10 decreased β-amyloid 42 and the Aβ42/40 ratio in neuroblastoma cells...