ORIC Pharmaceuticals Presents Prostate Cancer Potential of Rinzimetostat at AACR

Preclinical data highlights rinzimetostat's ability to overcome resistance and improve response to androgen receptor therapies.

Apr. 17, 2026 at 8:05pm

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A ghostly, glowing X-ray image of the internal structure of a human prostate gland, visualizing the complex biological mechanisms that new cancer drugs aim to target.Cutting-edge X-ray imaging reveals the intricate inner workings of the prostate gland, offering new insights into targeted cancer therapies.San Diego Today

ORIC Pharmaceuticals presented multiple posters at the 2026 AACR Annual Meeting showcasing the potential of rinzimetostat, a potent and selective allosteric inhibitor of PRC2, to treat prostate cancer. The data demonstrated rinzimetostat's ability to reduce tumor adaptability, sustain the benefit of androgen-receptor targeted therapies, and overcome resistance mechanisms observed with other PRC2 inhibitors.

Why it matters

PRC2 inhibition has emerged as a critical therapeutic target in prostate cancer, with elevated PRC2 activity observed early in disease development and sustained through progression and treatment resistance. Rinzimetostat's unique properties as an allosteric EED inhibitor could provide advantages over targeting EZH2, making it a potential best-in-class PRC2 inhibitor for prostate cancer.

The details

The preclinical data presented at AACR showed that rinzimetostat in combination with androgen receptor inhibitors like darolutamide demonstrated antitumor activity across a range of prostate cancer models, from castration-sensitive to castration-resistant disease. Rinzimetostat was also effective in overcoming resistance mechanisms observed with other PRC2 inhibitors, retaining activity in cells with overexpressed EZH1. Additionally, rinzimetostat exhibited improved pharmaceutical properties compared to other PRC2 inhibitors, including better solubility, oral bioavailability, and clinical half-life.

  • The 2026 AACR Annual Meeting took place in April 2026.

The players

ORIC Pharmaceuticals

A clinical stage oncology company focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance.

Lori Friedman, PhD

Chief scientific officer of ORIC Pharmaceuticals.

Rinzimetostat

A potent and selective allosteric inhibitor of PRC2 that ORIC is developing for the treatment of prostate cancer.

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What they’re saying

“Our research continues to show the therapeutic potential of PRC2 inhibition across the prostate cancer disease spectrum, by reducing tumor adaptability and sustaining the benefit derived from androgen-receptor targeted therapies.”

— Lori Friedman, Chief Scientific Officer

What’s next

ORIC plans to continue the clinical development of rinzimetostat for the treatment of prostate cancer, leveraging the promising preclinical data presented at AACR.

The takeaway

The preclinical data on rinzimetostat presented at AACR highlights its potential as a best-in-class PRC2 inhibitor that could overcome resistance and improve the efficacy of androgen-receptor targeted therapies across the prostate cancer disease spectrum.