ReEngage expands MD Anderson research pact for ACSS2 cancer drugs

By AI, Created 2:28 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – ReEngage Therapeutics expanded its sponsored research agreement with UT MD Anderson Cancer Center to broaden ACSS2 inhibitor research into ovarian and urologic cancers. The move deepens a collaboration that has already generated preclinical data in chemorefractory colorectal cancer and could widen the company’s oncology pipeline.

Why it matters: - The expanded agreement pushes ReEngage Therapeutics’ ACSS2 program beyond colorectal cancer and into additional hard-to-treat tumors. - Ovarian and urologic cancers are both settings where chemotherapy resistance remains a major treatment barrier. - Broader research coverage could help determine whether ReEngage’s lead candidate MTB-9655 can resensitize more chemorefractory solid tumors.

What happened: - ReEngage Therapeutics expanded its Sponsored Research Agreement with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center on May 18, 2026. - The research is focused on developing acetyl-CoA synthetase-2, or ACSS2, inhibitors to treat chemorefractory cancer. - The original agreement began in June 2024 and supported work led by Eyal Gottlieb, Ph.D., on ACSS2 inhibitors in colorectal cancer. - Under the amendment, Rugang Zhang, PhD, chair of Experimental Therapeutics at UT MD Anderson, joins as co-principal investigator. - The research scope now includes ovarian and urologic cancers.

The details: - The earlier colorectal cancer work examined ACSS2 inhibitors’ effects on acetate metabolism, histone modifications and the DNA damage response. - That work continues and has shown promise for MTB-9655 in chemorefractory colorectal cancer. - Zhang’s laboratory brings expertise in ovarian cancer biology, the DNA damage response, epigenetics and chemotherapy resistance. - ReEngage said those areas align with its ACSS2-related mechanism of resistance in tumors. - Thomas Kim, ReEngage’s CEO and co-founder, said the expanded agreement will deepen work in ovarian cancer and test additional tumor types where ACSS2 inhibition may help resensitize resistant tumors. - Kim also said the expansion will help show the company’s platform technology can extend into other tumor types. - Dr. Gottlieb is a co-founder of ReEngage Therapeutics. - Dr. Zhang serves on the company’s scientific advisory board. - UT MD Anderson’s Conflict of Interest Committee manages and monitors those financial relationships. - ReEngage is a clinical-stage oncology company based in Houston. - The company develops first-in-class small molecule inhibitors of ACSS2, which it describes as a metabolic-epigenetic master switch that drives tumor resistance. - MTB-9655 is ReEngage’s lead candidate. - ReEngage says MTB-9655 disrupts adaptive responses in chemorefractory solid tumors, including DNA damage response, epigenetic reprogramming, metabolic adaptation and immune evasion. - ReEngage holds an exclusive worldwide oncology license for its ACSS2 inhibitor platform. - The company says it has composition-of-matter patents granted in the United States, Japan and China, plus a second generation of proprietary compounds filed broadly worldwide.

Between the lines: - The expanded collaboration suggests ReEngage is trying to validate one biology target across multiple tumor types rather than relying on a single indication. - Adding an ovarian cancer expert also signals a push toward a broader resistance biology platform, not just a colorectal program. - The conflict disclosures show the partnership has overlapping scientific and company ties that are being formally managed.

What’s next: - The expanded MD Anderson work will continue to test ACSS2 inhibition across the newly added cancer types. - ReEngage will be looking for preclinical evidence that MTB-9655 or related compounds can reverse resistance in ovarian and urologic cancers. - Further data from the collaboration could support the company’s broader oncology development strategy.