Dualitas Therapeutics Appoints Karim Dabbagh as Chief Executive Officer to Advance Novel Bispecific Antibody Pipeline Toward the Clinic

• Karim Dabbagh, Ph.D., joins as CEO, bringing leadership experience in advancing immunology and inflammation therapies through clinical trials; Rich Murray, Ph.D., former interim CEO, remains on the Board of Directors
• Dualitas announces the nomination of DTX-102 as its lead development candidate, a bispecific antibody powered by a novel immune proximity engager mechanism, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis; clinical studies are anticipated to begin in 2027
• Dualitas announces two additional preclinical programs – enabled by its proprietary proximity engager – across large population indications including allergy, dermatology and gastrointestinal diseases

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Dualitas Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing next-generation bispecific antibody therapies for immunology and inflammation ("I&I") indications, has appointed Karim Dabbagh, Ph.D., as chief executive officer to lead the company as it advances its lead development candidate, DTX-102, a bispecific antibody incorporating Dualitas' immune proximity engager, for autoimmune indications including rheumatoid arthritis. IND-enabling studies have begun for DTX-102 and it is anticipated to enter the clinic in 2027.

Appointment of Karim Dabbagh as Chief Executive Officer

"This is a pivotal time for Dualitas, as we begin advancing the first of our differentiated bispecific antibody therapies for immune and inflammatory diseases into the clinic next year," Dabbagh said. "Our unique proximity engager technology with I&I applications has the potential to set a new standard in efficacy for millions of patients who are underserved by existing treatments."

Dabbagh has spent more than two decades in biotech and pharma leadership, specializing in I&I. He joins Dualitas from Silver Creek Pharmaceuticals, where he was President and CEO. Prior to that, he served as President and CEO of Second Genome, helping build the company's R&D platform and advancing its pipeline from discovery into the clinic, while also securing collaborations with Gilead Sciences and Bayer. Earlier in his career, he led Pfizer's immunoregulation department as well as external R&D innovation efforts in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and previously held leadership roles in Inflammation Discovery Research at Roche.

"Karim's deep experience advancing immunology therapies from the lab to clinical trials and establishing high-value collaborations across the drug discovery ecosystem makes him exceptionally well-suited for Dualitas at this critical juncture of pipeline maturation," said Neil Weir, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board of Directors. "Rich Murray, Ph.D., who served as interim CEO from January 2025, has shown tremendous leadership through the Series A financing and alignment of the science to product development. We are delighted he will remain on the Board of Directors."

DTX-102 and Dualitas "Proximity Engager" Technology

Dualitas' bispecific antibodies pair an internally discovered novel immune proximity engager arm with an antibody against a validated target. Unlike traditional bispecific approaches that seek incremental gains by combining two separate inhibitors, Dualitas' proximity engager pairs synergistically with diverse immune targets. This interaction drives amplified pharmacological effects that are achievable only in a bispecific format and cannot be achieved with monospecific agents. Dualitas is applying its bispecific proximity engager across multiple validated immune pathways, starting with the CD28 pathway for its DTX-102 program. In vitro and in vivo preclinical studies of DTX-102 demonstrated significantly greater potency and more durable immune modulation than currently approved therapies targeting the same pathways.

In addition to DTX-102, Dualitas announces two additional programs using its proprietary proximity engager. DTX-103 is an anti-FcεRI bispecific antibody that targets the IgE pathway to treat allergic diseases like asthma, food allergy, chronic spontaneous urticaria, among others. DTX-101 targets IL-2Rβ to substantially suppress both IL-15 and IL-2 pathways and is designed for initial indications in dermatologic and gastrointestinal disease.

Dualitas' $65 million Series A financing, announced in September 2025, will fund DTX-102 into the clinic and the ongoing development of its pipeline assets.

About Dualitas Therapeutics

Dualitas Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company pioneering next-generation bispecific antibody (BsAb) therapies for immunology and inflammation (I&I). Dualitas' portfolio, built from its DualScreen discovery engine, includes development candidate DTX-102 in rheumatoid arthritis, DTX-103 in allergic disease and DTX-101 in dermatologic and gastrointestinal autoimmune disease, alongside additional discoveries based on cell-surface proximity biology and novel co-target pairing. While advancing its own pipeline, Dualitas offers a variety of strategic collaboration opportunities to extend the impact of its DualScreen discovery engine, ranging from existing pipeline programs to identifying de novo BsAbs to establishing programs in disease areas beyond I&I. For more information, please visit https://www.dualitastx.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn.

SOURCE Dualitas Therapeutics