MAIA Biotechnology, Inc. Announces FDA Clearance of IND Application for THIO, a First-in-Class Telomere Targeting Agent for the Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

MAIA Biotechnology, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted immunotherapies for cancer. The Company's THIO (6-thio-dG, 6-thio-2'-deoxyguanosine) is a first-in-class investigational telomere-targeting agent in clinical development to evaluate its activity in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). 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 tumor regression in advanced, in vivo cancer models by induction of cancer type-specific immune memory. THIO is being 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.