CHICAGO / Oct 17, 2023 / Business Wire / MAIA Biotechnology, Inc. (NYSE American: MAIA), a clinical stage company developing telomere-targeting immunotherapies for cancer, announced its participation in the International Biochemistry Congress 2023, organized by the Turkish Biochemical Society, which will be held in Turkey from October 29 to November 1, 2023.

On October 30^th, MAIA’s Chief Scientific Officer Sergei Gryaznov, Ph.D. will deliver a presentation detailing the latest findings from an investigational new drug-enabling study of MAIA’s second generation telomere-targeting agents derived from lipid-modified THIO molecules. The title of Dr. Gryaznov’s presentation will be “Telomerase-driven Telomeric DNA Modification as Potential Broad-spectrum Cancer Treatment Platform.”

“The objective for our second-generation telomere-targeting molecule program is to discover new compounds with improved specificity towards cancer cells relative to normal cells and potentially increased anticancer activity, as well as better chemistry manufacturing control characteristics,” said Vlad Vitoc, M.D., MAIA’s Chief Executive Officer. “Previous preclinical studies of several of our second-generation THIO-like agents have shown significantly higher efficacy than THIO. We look forward to presenting the latest findings at the end of this month.”

THIO is currently in Phase 2 human clinical trials for non-small cell lung cancer treatment.

About THIO

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 (THIO) induces telomerase-dependent telomeric DNA modification, DNA damage responses, and selective cancer cell death. THIO-damaged telomeric fragments accumulate in cytosolic micronuclei and activates both innate (cGAS/STING) and adaptive (T-cell) immune responses. The sequential treatment with THIO 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. THIO 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 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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