Appointment deepens scientific leadership as Decoy advances its Designable Multi-Antiviral pipeline toward clinical development

NEW YORK and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Decoy Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: DCOY), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new category of antivirals, today announced the appointment of Brad L. Pentelute, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as Chair of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Dr. Pentelute is an original co-founder of Decoy and has served as a Technology Advisor since the company's inception. He is widely recognized for his foundational contributions to peptide synthesis and protein engineering.

As Chair of the SAB, Dr. Pentelute will help guide the scientific direction of Decoy's IMP³ACT^™ platform and its expanding pipeline of Designable Multi-Antivirals (D-MAVs^™), a new category of antivirals engineered to target shared viral mechanisms, enabling a single drug to work across multiple viral threats. IMP³ACT, Decoy's proprietary peptide conjugate platform, integrates AI-enabled design with rapid synthesis to advance candidates faster than traditional approaches.

"Brad has been part of Decoy's science from the start. He is one of the most respected voices in peptide therapeutics, and the work coming out of his MIT lab has changed what the field believes is possible. His insights have shaped Decoy from our earliest days, and his leadership of our SAB will help shape what comes next," said Rick Pierce, Chief Executive Officer of Decoy Therapeutics. "I also want to thank Shahin Gharakhanian for his leadership as Chair of our SAB during a foundational period for our company. As a globally renowned voice in virology, his contributions have been pivotal to our path to date, and we look forward to his continued partnership as we move toward the clinic."

Dr. Pentelute is a leader in the chemistry of peptides and proteins, with research that spans rapid flow peptide synthesis, intracellular delivery, and the discovery of selective binders for therapeutic targets. His laboratory at MIT has pioneered automated technologies that dramatically compress the time required to design, build, and test new peptide therapeutics, an approach central to the IMP³ACT platform's design philosophy.

"Antiviral medicine has been stuck in a one-virus, one-drug model for too long. What Decoy is building with D-MAVs is a different way of thinking about the problem, designing across multiple viruses rather than reacting to them one at a time. The combination of peptide chemistry, rapid synthesis, and AI-enabled design opens up real possibilities, and I am excited to take on a deeper role in guiding that work," said Dr. Pentelute.

About Decoy Therapeutics

Decoy Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company building a new category of antivirals designed to work across many viruses, for many uses, and for many people. The company is pioneering Designable Multi-Antivirals (D-MAVs^™), a new category of antivirals engineered to target shared viral mechanisms, enabling a single drug to work across multiple viral threats and moving beyond the traditional one-virus, one-drug model. D-MAVs are built on Decoy's proprietary peptide conjugate platform, IMP³ACT, which integrates AI-enabled design with rapid synthesis to support faster iteration and broader application across viral families. Decoy's lead programs are focused on respiratory viruses that continue to drive significant health and societal disruption worldwide. For more information, visit decoytx.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding Decoy, including expected achievement of milestones for its lead asset and future prospects of Decoy. These statements may discuss goals, intentions and expectations as to future plans, trends, events, results of operations or financial condition, or otherwise, based on current beliefs of the management of Decoy, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. Forward-looking statements generally include statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and include words such as "may," "will," "can," "should," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "likely," "believe," "estimate," "project," "intend," and other similar expressions. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors, including, without limitation: the risk that the Company will not obtain sufficient financing to execute on their business plans and risks related to Decoy's products and development plans, including unanticipated issues with any IND application process and the potential of the IMP³ACT^™ platform. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by the Company in its reports filed with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, as revised or supplemented by its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents filed with the SEC. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, Decoy's actual results may vary materially from those expected or projected.

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SOURCE Decoy Therapeutics, Inc