Kazia Therapeutics in-licenses drug development platform from QIMR Berghofer

Kazia Therapeutics (KZIA) announced the in-licensing of a SETDB1-targeted epigenetic drug development platform from QIMR Berghofer. The platform includes use of an AI-integrated epigenetic drug discovery engine candidate generation. The lead drug candidate, MSETC, was discovered and optimized using this AI-integrated epigenetic drug discovery engine. MSETC is a bicyclic peptide designed to target a disease-associated nuclear SETDB1 complex. By targeting SETDB1, the program is intended to restore immune signaling in tumors that have become resistant to immunotherapy, including checkpoint inhibitors. “SETDB1 represents a compelling emerging target in oncology,” said John Friend, CEO of Kazia Therapeutics. “With this acquisition, we are extending our strategy to target how cancer controls its own behavior by addressing immune resistance at the chromatin level, one of the earliest layers of tumor immune regulation, alongside transcriptional reprogramming with paxalisib and targeted protein degradation with our PD-L1 platform. Together, these programs position Kazia’s pipeline to address cancer therapy across multiple layers of tumor biology.”