Next-generation divalent agents show increased anticancer activity in preclinical in vitro and in vivo models

CHICAGO, Sept. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MAIA Biotechnology, Inc. (NYSE:MAIA) ("MAIA", the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing immunotherapies for cancer, today announced its presentation of a poster featuring its second-generation telomere-targeting anticancer drug candidates at the recent XXVI International Round Table on Nucleosides, Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids (IRT 2026) held in Barcelona, Spain.

MAIA's lead drug candidate, ateganosine, is a first-in-class telomere-targeting therapy designed to selectively damage cancer-cell telomeres while activating the body's antitumor immune response. The poster and oral presentations highlighted both ateganosine's novel mechanism of action and MAIA's next-generation divalent telomere-targeting drug candidates, which combine ateganosine with a complementary DNA-targeting agent in a single prodrug molecule. These next-generation candidates are designed to attack tumors through multiple mechanisms, with the goal of delivering greater efficacy than ateganosine alone.

"Our presentations at IRT 2026 reflect the continued scientific progress of our telomere-targeting platform and significant scientific interest in our research," said Vlad Vitoc, M.D., Founder and CEO of MAIA. "Our next-generation program is designed to expand the therapeutic potential and versatility of our science and support our long-term strategy of developing differentiated therapies that address significant unmet medical needs."

"It was an honor to participate at IRT 2026, where we shared how we are advancing our telomere-targeting platform with next-generation prodrug molecules designed to enhance antitumor activity," said Sergei Gryaznov, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of MAIA. "By evaluating multiple molecular designs in complementary cell-based studies and preclinical in vivo tumor models, we have identified structural features associated with the strongest antitumor activity. These findings are helping us optimize our next-generation therapies while further validating the potential of our platform to induce durable antitumor immune responses."

"IRT 2026 provided an important opportunity to share the progress of our next-generation telomere-targeting programs with leading researchers in the field and to discuss how these advances could translate into new therapeutic approaches for cancer," said Victor Zaporojan, M.D., Executive Medical Director of MAIA Biotechnology. "The data presented at the conference demonstrate the breadth of our platform beyond ateganosine and reinforce our strategy of developing increasingly potent and optimized molecules that leverage telomere biology to selectively target cancer cells. We believe this work further strengthens the scientific foundation for expanding MAIA’s pipeline across multiple tumor types."

MAIA’s presentations:

Oral: "Novel Divalent Cancer RedOx Activatable Nucleoside Prodrugs as Potent Anticancer Modalities"
Poster: "New Telomere-Targeting Dual-Pharmacophore Dinucleotide Prodrugs for Anticancer Therapy"

MAIA was a sponsor of IRT 2026. MAIA’s IRT 2026 poster is available at maiabiotech.com/publications.

About Ateganosine

Ateganosine (THIO, 6-thio-dG or 6-thio-2’-deoxyguanosine) is a first-in-class investigational telomere-targeting agent currently in clinical development to evaluate its activity in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Telomeres, along with the enzyme telomerase, play a fundamental role in the survival of cancer cells and their resistance to current therapies. The modified nucleotide 6-thio-2’-deoxyguanosine induces telomerase-dependent telomeric DNA modification, DNA damage responses, and selective cancer cell death. Ateganosine-damaged telomeric fragments accumulate in cytosolic micronuclei and activates both innate (cGAS/STING) and adaptive (T-cell) immune responses. The sequential treatment of ateganosine followed by PD-(L)1 inhibitors resulted in profound and persistent tumor regression in advanced, in vivo cancer models by induction of cancer type–specific immune memory. Ateganosine is presently developed as a second or later line of treatment for NSCLC for patients that have progressed beyond the standard-of-care regimen of existing checkpoint inhibitors.

About MAIA Biotechnology, Inc.

MAIA is a targeted therapy, immuno-oncology company focused on the development and commercialization of potential first-in-class drugs with novel mechanisms of action that are intended to meaningfully improve and extend the lives of people with cancer. Our lead program is ateganosine (THIO), a potential first-in-class cancer telomere targeting agent in clinical development for the treatment of NSCLC patients with telomerase-positive cancer cells. For more information, please visit www.maiabiotech.com.

Forward Looking Statements

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