New drug candidates debut in Atlanta

Atlanta—On Wednesday, chemists converged in a spacious auditorium in the Georgia World Congress Center to hear about six molecules’ paths from the bench to the clinic. The American Chemical Society Division of Medicinal Chemistry’s flagship first-time disclosures session at the ACS Spring 2026 meeting drew pharma pros and students alike for an afternoon of drug-discovery deep dives.The lineup featured promising new candidates for treating neuropathic pain and cancer—some first in class; others, such as GDC-4198, efforts to overcome the limitations of existing medicines. The session also demonstrated the use of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence–driven drug discovery. “It’s a fantastic program, and I hope you’re all as energized as I am to hear it,” session chair H. Rachel Lagiakos of Novartis said in her introductory remarks.Candidate: BHV-2100Presenter: Arnaud Marchand, Centre for Drug Design and Discovery (CD3), in collaboration with BiohavenTarget: Transient receptor potential melastatin 3 (TRPM3)Disease: Neuropathic pain and migraineClinical: Phase 2 (NCT06603623)Candidate: BMS-986482Presenter: Emily Cherney, Bristol Myers SquibbTargets: Ikaros family zinc finger 1–4 (IKZF1–4)Disease: Solid tumorsClinical: Phase 1/2 (NCT06697197)Related: Molecular glues are beginning to stickCandidate: GDC-4198 (RGT-419B)Presenter: Wenge Zhong, Regor Therapeutics GroupTargets: Cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 2 (CDK 4/2)Disease: Human epidermal growth factor receptor–negative (HER2–) breast cancerClinical: Phase 1b/2 (NCT07100106)Related: Genentech to buy Regor’s CDK inhibitorsCandidate: OP-3136Presenter: David Myles, Olema OncologyTarget: Histone lysine acetyltransferase 6 (KAT6)Disease: Estrogen receptor–positive (ER+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor–negative (HER2–) breast cancerClinical: Phase 1 (NCT06784193)Candidate: FORX-428Presenter: Ulrich Luecking, FoRx TherapeuticsTarget: Poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG)Disease: Solid tumorsClinical: Phase 1 (NCT07356453)Related: Driving cancer beyond the brink Candidate: IAM1363Presenter: Laurent Gomez, Iambic TherapeuticsTarget: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)Disease: Human epidermal growth factor receptor–negative (HER2) driven cancersClinical: Phase 1