The University of Houston’s Technology Bridge works tirelessly to provide researchers and aspiring entrepreneurs essential tools to successfully commercialize innovations that can change the world.

Thanks to Tech Bridge’s resources and mentorship, a biology and biochemistry research professor at UH reached a significant milestone toward introducing revolutionary gene therapy to the masses.

Chrysa Latrick, founder of A la Mod Therapeutics, recently took home top honors during Tech Bridge’s latest Pitch Day event, impressing judges with her team’s developments for a novel technology with a simple mission: to increase the quality of life for patients grappling with serious genetic conditions.

“The therapy being developed by A La Mod Therapeutics safely inserts a gene of interest into one specific place in the genome,” Latrick said. “This specificity lowers the risk of developing cancer from non-specific integration into the genome.”

The bulk of Latrick’s research has centered on patients with Hemophilia A, a hereditary blood clotting disorder that causes excessive bleeding. However, with well over 6,000 known genetic diseases and an estimate of anywhere between 3.5 and 5.9 percent of the world’s population affected by any one of these disorders, Latrick is confident that the novel technique can combat a wide array of these conditions.

“The technology uses RNA in a novel way to achieve the integration event,” she said. “Because this treatment is durable by design, patients would no longer need to take frequent injections to treat their disease. This therapy will be unique because unlike current available treatments, it is designed to be permanent and is virus-free.”

Latrick said the lifetime cost of treatment for a Hemophilia A patient alone can exceed $20 million, so a one-time treatment not only would be better for the patients, but it also would be significantly less expensive in the long run. With this in mind, it doesn’t take an investor to see how this developing therapy would have a massive impact on the gene therapy market.

However, getting the product to market was a challenge. Latrick readily admits that immersing herself in business approaches and the associated lingo was a bit of a culture shock for someone with her research credentials. It was here, she noted, that Tech Bridge’s assistance proved valuable.

“Coming from an exclusively scientific background, all of the approaches in business and the language that business people use were all new to me,” Latrick said. “It was a great help in developing my communication skills to reach a broader audience.”

Those newfound skills resulted in A la Mod Therapeutics winning a cash prize that can help further research as well as six months free membership to The Us Space, a women of color-focused ideation hub for aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners.

For Latrick, this is just the beginning.

“This summer we’re applying for an STTR grant working with UH as our partner,” she said. “In the next 3-5 years, our goal is to get more funding for the company and to continue developing the technology so we can move to preclinical development, with the ultimate goal being to reach clinical trials.”

With UH as a partner and Tech Bridge in her corner, Latrick said she feels her team is well-positioned to advance a groundbreaking technology that will provide a new hope for millions of people across the globe.

For more information on Latrick’s technology or partnership opportunities, contact ottitb@central.uh.edu.