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: