Talus Bio Unveils Promising Preclinical Data on Transcription Factor Therapeutic Programs at AACR 2025 SEATTLE—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Talus Bioscience, a company specializing in technology-driven therapeutics, has announced significant preclinical data from its programs aimed at targeting transcription factors in chordoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and advanced prostate cancer. The findings were presented at the 2025 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, which took place from April 25 to 30. “Transcription factors have historically been considered undruggable due to their complex nature and the lack of suitable targets for small-molecule therapeutics,” explained Alex Federation, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of Talus Bio. “Our platform is designed to systematically tackle these challenges, and the data we are presenting at AACR demonstrate its effectiveness. This year alone, we have recorded over 50 million protein-compound interactions. Our lead molecules targeting Brachyury, NONO, and AR-V7 show promising results in treating challenging forms of cancer, validating our strategy.” Talus Bio’s innovative technology profiles the regulome, quantifying the activity of transcription factors and other DNA-bound regulators in live, unmodified human cells. Capable of measuring over 10,000 regulomes each month, this platform is pivotal in discovering and optimizing small molecules that modulate transcription factor activity in their natural cellular environment. At AACR, several presentations highlighted the strengths of this approach, underscoring the company’s progress in combining high-throughput transcription factor profiling with AI-guided chemistry to expedite the discovery process. Key Presentation Highlights: Selective Inhibition of Brachyury in Chordoma and NSCLC (Poster 4036 / 2): Gaelle Mercenne presented preclinical data showing that the novel covalent small molecule TAL61 can effectively modulate Brachyury activity in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models of chordoma. This indicates potential for TAL61 to become a candidate for treating these cancers. Targeting NONO in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (Poster 6991 / 20): Brian McEllin shared preclinical evidence supporting a new approach to target NONO, a protein involved in disrupting both AR and AR-V7 transcription. This method shows promise as a therapeutic strategy for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Small Molecule Inhibition of Previously “Undruggable” Transcription Factors (Poster 4496 / 7): Alex Federation discussed the company’s regulome sequencing platform, which serves as a powerful drug discovery engine for traditionally challenging transcription factor targets. The presentation emphasized how Talus Bio’s AI model has identified over 30 tractable compounds against validated transcription factor targets in various diseases, including cancer. These achievements mark a significant step forward in the field of oncology, demonstrating the potential of Talus Bio’s platform to uncover new treatments for diseases previously resistant to drug therapy. The company is currently seeking partnerships to further advance these discoveries into clinical trials. For the latest updates and to learn more about collaboration opportunities, follow Talus Bioscience on LinkedIn. About Talus Bioscience: Founded in 2020 by Alex Federation, PhD, and Lindsay Pino, PhD, Talus Bio is a Seattle-based company pioneering a first-in-class platform to directly measure and modulate the regulome—the network of genome-bound proteins that control gene expression. This platform facilitates the systematic discovery and optimization of small molecules that can target and influence previously "undruggable" transcription factors in live human cells, where these proteins are fully formed and functionally active. With a focus on advancing a pipeline of transcription factor-targeted therapies, Talus Bio leverages cutting-edge technologies in proteomics, chemistry, and machine learning to build a team of top-tier scientists dedicated to transforming the landscape of drug discovery.