BRD4 inhibitor (Kainos Medicine, Inc.)

Company to engage with leading investors and biopharma executives as MDL-001, a novel direct-acting antiviral targeting RdRp-Thumb 1, and MDL-4102, a novel transcriptional regulator targeting BRD4, advance toward IND. San Diego, CA — 2/23/26 — Model Medicines , an AI-first biotechnology company engineering first-in-class small-molecule therapeutics, today announced its participation in the BIOCOM Global Partnering Conference 2026 , taking place February 24–26, 2026, at The Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California. Regarded as one of the premier partnering and investor events of the year, BIOCOM Global Partnering convenes senior leaders from venture capital, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical companies to drive strategic collaboration, licensing, and investment activity. Model Medicines will deliver a presentation at the conference to advance partnership discussions across its virology and oncology pipelines. “BIOCOM Global Partnering is where real scientific lineages and real commercial intent intersect,” said Daniel Haders, PhD, Founder and CEO of Model Medicines. “Our programs are a natural continuation of the most important antiviral and transcriptional biology work of the past decade, now enabled by computation at a scale that finally allows these ideas to reach patients.” Advancing Toward the Clinic At BIOCOM Global Partnering, Model Medicines will highlight progress across its two lead drug candidates: MDL-001 — a direct-acting, non-nucleoside, broad-spectrum antiviral targeting a conserved viral polymerase mechanism, with demonstrated preclinical activity across respiratory and hepatic viruses and high-risk co-infections. MDL-001 is being developed across major respiratory infections, including influenza, COVID-19, and RSV, as well as chronic hepatitis infections, including HCV, HBV, and HDV, representing an estimated combined global antiviral market exceeding $30 billion annually. By targeting a conserved polymerase mechanism shared across viral families, the program is designed to provide a unified, oral therapeutic approach spanning both seasonal respiratory outbreaks and chronic liver disease, including high-risk co-infected patient populations. The program is currently completing IND-enabling studies. IND submission is targeted for late 2026 with clinical trials estimated to commence in early 2027. MDL-4102 — a highly potent and selective BRD4 inhibitor with no measurable activity against BRD2 or BRD3. The program was optimized for BRD4 selectivity, transcriptional impact, and drug-like properties simultaneously. MDL-4102 is designed to overcome the dose-limiting hematologic toxicities that hindered prior pan-BET inhibitors, positioning it as a next-generation transcriptional therapy with the potential for durable efficacy across BRD4-driven malignancies. Beyond oncology, BRD4 biology extends into fibrosis, cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune disorders, expanding the potential addressable market to more than $60 billion annually across these therapeutic areas. By enabling selective transcriptional modulation with improved tolerability, MDL-4102 is positioned as a differentiated, next-generation approach to targeting core disease-driving gene expression programs. The program is currently in IND-enabling studies. IND submission is targeted for 2027. A Platform Built for Partnership The discovery of MDL-4102 is a direct result of Model Medicines' unprecedented 325-billion-molecule virtual screen conducted in 2025 in a 24-hour period. [1] This record-breaking capability, enabled by the ultra-large virtual screen, enabled the development of a next-generation BRD4 inhibitor. [2] Model Medicines announced this screen and the subsequent discovery of MDL-4102 at the second-annual Google Cloud Cancer AI Symposium in New York City. This powerful capability is driven by Model Medicines' proprietary platform, which enables these ultra-large virtual screens (ULVS). Following the 2025 record, the company has set an ambitious goal to conduct a 1 trillion-molecule screen in 2026 in a 24-hour period. By translating breakthrough models into tangible drug candidates, the company accelerates both novel target discovery and the precision engineering of small molecules against conserved biological choke points. This ULVS capability offers a unique opportunity for partners to rapidly identify and develop novel programs. The company is actively seeking partnerships, licensing, and strategic collaborations in the areas of oncology, virology, and inflammation. About Model Medicines Model Medicines is an AI-first biotechnology company engineering first-in-class small molecules that target the biological linchpins underlying disease. The company’s research spans infectious disease, oncology, and inflammation, with programs designed around conserved molecular choke points that drive multiple pathologies. Model Medicines has discovered a direct-acting, non-nucleoside, broad-spectrum antiviral (MDL-001) and a BRD4 inhibitor with no measurable activity against BRD2/3 (MDL-4102). Its work demonstrates how large-scale computation can uncover entirely new classes of drugs once thought unreachable. Model Medicines is advancing a new generation of therapeutics that redefine what is possible in modern drug discovery. Learn more at Media Contact: Patrick O’Neill Head of Partnerships & Investor Relations media@modelmedicines.com [1] Google Cloud. Google Cloud to host second-annual Cancer AI Symposium in New York City [Internet]. New York: PRNewswire; 2025 Oct 30 [cited 2026 Feb 23]. Available from: [2] Google Cloud. LA Tech Week - AI for Startups in Healthcare Lifesciences [Internet]. Venice (CA): Google; 2025 Oct 17 [cited 2026 Feb 23]. Available from:

BRD4, a member of the bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) protein family, plays a crucial role in the regulation of gene expression and chromatin remodeling in the human body. It acts as an epigenetic reader, recognizing and binding to acetylated lysine residues on histone proteins, thereby facilitating the recruitment of transcriptional machinery to specific gene loci. BRD4's involvement in various cellular processes, including cell cycle progression, inflammation, and cancer, makes it an attractive target for therapeutic intervention. Inhibitors targeting BRD4 have shown promising results in preclinical and clinical studies, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target for various diseases. With the advancement of technology, researchers have developed a variety of BRD4 inhibitors through computer-assisted drug design, which work by targeting and inhibiting the BRD4 domain, inducing apoptosis in tumor cells, and thereby achieving anti-tumor effects. To date, reported small molecule inhibitors targeting BRD4 mainly include azole class (IBET151), purine class, quinone class and its derivatives (RVX-208), tetrahydroquinoline class (IBET726), and naphthylamine class, etc. Among these, JQ1 was the first publicly disclosed BET inhibitor, which achieves cell differentiation and apoptosis by competitively binding with the BRD4 fusion oncogene (BRD4-NUT), causing BRD4-NUT to dissociate from chromatin. However, JQ1 has a short half-life and increasing the dosage to maintain its effectiveness also increases the drug's side effects. Subsequent researchers addressed this drawback by structurally modifying JQ1, resulting in small molecular compounds like OTX015, MS417, CPI203, etc. BET proteins are widely expressed in human tissues, participate in the regulation of gene transcription, influence cell cycle processes, and abnormal expression of BRD4 can lead to the occurrence of various diseases such as tumors, cardiovascular diseases, inflammation, etc. In recent years, drug research targeting BRD4 has received widespread attention, and monotherapy or combined therapy targeting the BET family has shown promising clinical results. However, most of the current inhibitors are non-selective with poor specificity. Therefore, there is a new direction in research to find new BET inhibitors with better selectivity and higher specificity. How do they work?From a biomedical perspective, BRD4 inhibitors are a type of drug that target and inhibit the activity of the BRD4 protein. BRD4 is a member of the bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) protein family, which plays a crucial role in regulating gene expression. By inhibiting BRD4, these inhibitors can interfere with the binding of BRD4 to chromatin, leading to the suppression of specific genes involved in various cellular processes. BRD4 inhibitors have gained significant attention in the field of cancer research, particularly in the development of targeted therapies. Cancer cells often rely on certain genes for their survival and proliferation, and BRD4 inhibitors can disrupt the expression of these genes, potentially leading to the inhibition of tumor growth. Additionally, BRD4 inhibitors have shown promise in other disease areas, such as inflammation and cardiovascular disorders. It's important to note that BRD4 inhibitors are still under investigation and clinical trials to determine their efficacy and safety profiles. List of BRD4 InhibitorsThe currently marketed BRD4 inhibitors include: ApabetaloneBirabresib dihydrateNHWD-870PLX-2853AZD-5153PLX-51107RNK05047ABBV-744ACC-010CK-103For more information, please click on the image below. What are BRD4 inhibitors used for?BRD4 inhibitors have shown promise in other disease areas, such as inflammation and cardiovascular disorders. For more information, please click on the image below to log in and search. How to obtain the latest development progress of BRD4 inhibitors?In the Synapse database, you can keep abreast of the latest research and development advances of BRD4 inhibitors anywhere and anytime, daily or weekly, through the "Set Alert" function. Click on the image below to embark on a brand new journey of drug discovery!