Expansion adds Co-Principal investigator that Broadens Collaboration into Ovarian and Urologic Cancers
HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES, May 18, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — ReEngage Therapeutics, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company combatting cancer by reversing chemotherapy resistance, today announced the expansion of a Sponsored Research Agreement with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MD Anderson) to support research with the goal of developing Acetyl-CoA Synthetase-2 (ACSS2) inhibitors to treat chemorefractory cancer.
The original Sponsored Research Agreement, signed in June 2024, supports research by Eyal Gottlieb, Ph.D., to study the effects of ACSS2 inhibitors on acetate metabolism, histone modifications, and the DNA damage response in colorectal cancer. That work, which continues, has shown the promise of our lead MTB-9655 as a treatment for chemorefractory colorectal cancer.
Under the amendment, Rugang Zhang, PhD, Chair of Experimental Therapeutics at UT MD Anderson, joins Dr. Gottlieb as Co-Principal Investigator, and the scope of the research expands to include ovarian and urologic cancers. Dr. Zhang’s laboratory brings deep expertise in ovarian cancer biology, the DNA damage response, epigenetics, and chemotherapy resistance – all directly relevant to ReEngage’s ACSS2-related mechanism responsible for resistance in tumors.
“ReEngage Therapeutics looks forward to building on the impressive preclinical data already generated at UT MD Anderson,” said Thomas Kim, CEO and co-founder of ReEngage. “Expanding this Sponsored Research Agreement and adding Dr. Zhang as Co-Principal Investigator allows us to deepen our work in ovarian cancer and explore additional tumor types where ACSS2 inhibition may help resensitize tumors that have become resistant. This also will show our platform technology can expand into other tumor types. “
DISCLOSURE
Dr. Gottlieb is a co-founder of ReEngage Therapeutics, and Dr. Zhang is a member of the company’s scientific advisory board. These financial relationships are managed and monitored by the UT MD Anderson Conflict of Interest Committee.
ABOUT REENGAGE THERAPEUTICS
ReEngage Therapeutics is a clinical-stage oncology company developing first-in-class small molecule inhibitors of ACSS2, a metabolic-epigenetic master switch that drives tumor resistance. ReEngage’s lead candidate MTB-9655 disrupts the adaptive response of chemorefractory solid tumors, including DNA damage response, epigenetic reprogramming, metabolic adaptation, and immune evasion mechanisms that allow tumors to survive cytotoxic therapy. ReEngage holds an exclusive worldwide license in oncology for its ACSS2 inhibitor platform, with composition-of-matter patents granted in the United States, Japan, and China, and a second generation of proprietary compounds filed broadly worldwide. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
For further information, please visit https://www.reengagetx.com. Follow ReEngage Therapeutics on X at @ ReEngageTx and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ reengage-therapeutics/.
Thomas S Kim
ReEngage Therapeutics Inc.
+1 215-400-0133
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