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The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) has partnered with GEn1E Lifesciences, a tech-driven biotech company, to develop and commercialize innovative treatments for rare diseases. GEn1E’s CEO, Dr. Ritu Lal, an alumna of the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, has been working with UMB since 2019 when the company licensed a p38a kinase inhibitor program. This program enabled the development of targeted therapies for inflammatory and age-related diseases, now in clinical stages.
Building on this success, GEn1E is advancing its collaboration with UMB to commercialize ERK1/2 immunomodulators. These treatments selectively target disease-causing pathways while preserving beneficial anti-inflammatory responses, a significant improvement over conventional immunosuppressive drugs. This precision approach, stemming from research by Drs. Paul Shapiro and Jeffrey Hasday, minimizes side effects, offering safer options for conditions like cancer and inflammatory diseases, with potential applications in COVID-19 treatments.
GEn1E’s “techbio” model integrates machine learning to optimize drug development, making the process faster and more efficient. By enhancing data quality and leveraging AI-driven insights, the company aims to reduce the time needed for biotech products to reach the market from seven years to three. This technology-driven approach represents a major leap in drug discovery, likened to the evolution from an abacus to a modern calculator, enabling smarter and more effective therapeutic innovations.
