UT Southwestern and InterAct Therapeutics Partner to Combat Cancer Metastasis with Novel Gene Therapy
DALLAS – March 24, 2026 – UT Southwestern Medical Center and InterAct Therapeutics have announced an exclusive licensing agreement to develop and commercialize a groundbreaking computational platform and gene therapy pipeline targeting cancer metastasis, the process by which cancer spreads to other parts of the body.
The collaboration centers on InterAct’s proprietary computational engine, designed to decipher the complex biological mechanisms driving cancer spread. The lead therapeutic candidate, IAT-S2, is an AAV8-based gene therapy specifically engineered to treat breast cancer liver metastasis (BCLM), a particularly aggressive form of cancer with limited treatment options and a poor prognosis.
Daniel Hommes, M.D., Ph.D., is Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer at UT Southwestern.
“The UTSW Innovation Hub is dedicated to ensuring that our most promising scientific discoveries reach the patients who need them most,” said Daniel Hommes, M.D., Ph.D., Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer at UT Southwestern. “InterAct’s unique computational approach to metastasis, combined with our foundational research, creates a powerful synergy. We are proud to partner with a team that has shown such rapid clinical and operational progress.”
Isaac Chan, M.D., Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and of Molecular Biology at UT Southwestern.
The agreement builds upon the cancer research of Isaac Chan, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and of Molecular Biology at UT Southwestern. Dr. Chan’s work is conducted within the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UTSW.
InterAct’s Progress and the Charles River Incubator Program
InterAct’s momentum has been building in early 2026. The company was recently selected for the Charles River Laboratories International’s Cell & Gene Therapy Incubator Program (CIP), a significant achievement that will provide crucial manufacturing scale-up capabilities to advance IAT-S2 and the broader pipeline toward clinical trials. Dallas Innovates reported on this selection in December 2025.
Dan Hargrove is CEO of InterAct Therapeutics.
“This licensing agreement is a pivotal milestone for InterAct,” said Dan Hargrove, CEO of InterAct Therapeutics. “InterAct is at the forefront of cracking the biological code of how invasive cancer cells displace healthy host cells. By leveraging the pioneering work of Dr. Isaac Chan and the Chan Lab at UT Southwestern, we have developed a way to reverse this process. Our approach doesn’t just turn the host environment into a barrier against disease; it trains healthy host cells to become cancer killers.”
“We are deeply grateful to UT Southwestern, a powerhouse in cancer research, for its partnership in this mission and the significant support of the UTSW Innovation Hub. Following productive discussions with the Food and Drug Administration and our selection into the Charles River Incubator Program, we are moving with urgency toward clinical trials for our lead breast cancer liver metastasis indication, targeting a major unmet need with a first-in-class therapy.”
InterAct will present further details on its progress and the IAT-S2 program at the Charles River Laboratories (CRL) Cell & Gene Therapy Summit on March 25-26 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Dr. Chan is a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of InterAct Therapeutics.
About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, a leading academic medical center, integrates biomedical research with clinical care and education. Its faculty has been recognized with six Nobel Prizes and includes numerous members of the National Academies of Sciences and Medicine. The institution’s full-time faculty of over 3,300 is dedicated to translating scientific discoveries into new treatments, serving over 143,000 hospitalized patients and nearly 5.3 million outpatient visits annually.
About InterAct Therapeutics Inc.
InterAct Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on addressing cancer metastasis at its source. The company’s proprietary InterAct Print™ platform identifies the biological factors driving cancer infiltration and engineers therapies to reprogram the host environment, creating a barrier against metastatic cancers and stimulating host cells to fight cancer. IAT-S2, the lead program, is a first-in-class AAV8 gene therapy for breast cancer liver metastasis (BCLM). InterAct’s platform is designed to target common metastatic sites, including the lung and brain, utilizing AAV, mRNA, and siRNA modalities. Learn more at InterAct Therapeutics’ website.