Cambridge, MA, January 5, 2026


General Biologics, Inc., a biotechnology company advancing next-generation biologic medicines that enhance the body’s resilience to oxygen deprivation, announced today that it has received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.
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The grant, titled “Development of a Tissue-Targeted Non-Thrombotic EPO Derivative,” will support the fine tuning and testing of a novel therapeutic protein that performs the beneficial functions of erythropoietin (EPO) but avoids the well known undesirable side effects of currently available EPO drugs. General Biologics’ drug stimulates red blood cell production and protects tissues during oxygen deprivation (hypoxia) without triggering the blood clotting complications that have limited currently existing EPO therapies.

Addressing the Challenge of Hypoxia
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Hypoxia, or the lack of sufficient oxygen reaching tissues, is a driving factor in many of the world’s most serious medical conditions including heart attack, stroke, traumatic blood loss, and respiratory failure. When oxygen levels fall below a critical level, cells begin to die within minutes, causing irreversible damage to organs and tissues.

EPO, a hormone naturally produced by the body, plays a central role in responding to low oxygen by stimulating red blood cell production, enhancing blood flow, and protecting tissues from injury. However, clinical use of EPO is limited because it can also increase the risk of blood clots, heart attack, and stroke.

General Biologics’ engineered protein, EPO-H (Erythropoietin for Hypoxia), is designed to preserve the oxygen-delivering and tissue-protective benefits of EPO while removing the harmful stimulation of cells that promote clotting. EPO-H has already been shown to have these desirable properties in partially humanized mice. This innovation aims to safely enhance oxygen delivery and protect vital organs in patients facing acute or chronic hypoxic conditions.

Building a New Generation of Biologic Medicines

Work supported under this NIH grant will be conducted at the Blavatnik Harvard Life Lab in Boston, where General Biologics operates its research lab with full access to the Harvard Medical School Core Facilities. The company will focus on further characterization of EPO-H’s ability to improve oxygen resilience without elevating clotting risk in animals. This work will establish a foundation for future preclinical and clinical studies in humans.

This project represents an important step forward in therapeutic protein design,” said Dr. Jeffrey Way, Chief Executive Officer of General Biologics. “Our team is exploring the way therapeutic proteins can interact with the body’s natural systems. We are building on a platform technology developed at Harvard Medical School that allows us to direct protein drugs towards cells that mediate a therapeutic effect and away from cells that cause side effects. EPO-H has the potential to protect patients from oxygen deprivation without the safety concerns that have historically constrained current commercial EPO use. This NIH award is both a validation of our science and a catalyst for the next stage of innovation.”

Dr. Robert Rogers Yocum, Chief Scientific Officer and Principal Investigator, added, “Hypoxia underlies many serious conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis, right-sided heart failure, and anemia caused by virus infections, aging, cancer, or kidney failure. By decoupling EPO’s beneficial effects from its dangerous side effects, we aim to create a therapy that restores oxygen balance, protects tissues, and expands treatment options for multiple disease areas. In addition to eliminating harmful side effects, our platform increases the lifetime of protein drugs in patients, which will reduce the need for frequent injections.”

He continued, “COPD is the third most common cause of death worldwide. In the United States alone, there are two million patients with COPD and resulting anemia who could benefit from EPO-H. The potential market is therefore substantial. Eventually, EPO-H could replace current versions of EPO used to treat kidney failure patients, which generate approximately seventeen billion dollars in annual sales.”

General Biologics: Expanding the Boundaries of Protein Engineering

While this Phase I award focuses on EPO-H, General Biologics views the work as part of a broader effort to develop biologics that combine precision, safety, and efficacy. The company’s protein engineering platform is designed to produce therapeutics that cooperate with the body’s natural pathways rather than disrupt them, enabling fresh approaches to pulmonary, cardiovascular, neurological, and regenerative medicine.

This research is supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R43HL176305. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

About General Biologics, Inc.

General Biologics is a biotechnology company based in Boston, Massachusetts, dedicated to developing engineered, next-generation protein therapeutics that improve the safety and performance of biologic medicines. By integrating advanced molecular design with translational research, General Biologics seeks to create therapies that enhance the body’s ability to withstand oxygen deprivation and other forms of physiological stress.Engineering next-generation biologics for safer, smarter therapies.

Press contact: Jeffrey Way, PhD
Email: jeff.way@genbiologics.com