Miraz Rahman is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences at King’s College London. After three years in industry, he returned to academia to complete his PhD in synthetic medicinal chemistry at the UCL School of Pharmacy. His research brings together computational chemistry, synthetic medicinal chemistry, and chemical biology to develop drug-like chemical scaffolds with anticancer and anti-infective activity. His group focuses on translational medicinal chemistry, working from target biology and molecular design through to early therapeutic development.

Professor Rahman’s research in anticancer drug discovery covers several areas, including transcription factor–targeting PROTACs, new generations of drug-like payloads for antibody–drug conjugates, and efflux-resistant chemotherapeutic agents. He collaborates widely with academic and clinical partners in oncology to accelerate the translation of new chemical entities into therapeutic candidates. His long-standing work on pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) DNA-binding agents has produced patented anticancer molecules that have progressed through commercial routes and are being applied in multiple therapeutic platforms.

He is an academic entrepreneur with a strong record of translational impact. He has published over 120 research papers and filed 24 patents to date. His work on targeting HO-1 in the tumour microenvironment led to the formation of the King’s spin-out Aethox Therapeutics in 2025. He co-founded Femtogenix Ltd in 2015, which developed highly potent PDD-based payload technologies and was later relaunched as Pheon Therapeutics in 2022 which is now a clinical-stage antibody–drug conjugate company. He also co-founded Transcriptogen Ltd (2013), focused on discovery of small-molecule anticancer agents.

Alongside his anticancer research, Professor Rahman leads a major programme in antimicrobial drug discovery. His work focuses on the development of new-generation antimicrobial therapeutics, with particular emphasis on efflux-resistant antibiotics and antifungal agents that are now progressing through preclinical development. He collaborates with national partners on antimicrobial resistance, using chemical tools, homology modelling, and advanced computational methods to study efflux pumps and identify new strategies to overcome multidrug resistance. The Rahman laboratory, located on the 5th floor of the Franklin Wilkins Building, is supported by industry, charitable, and research council funding.

Application of synthetic medicinal chemistry and chemical biology techniques to the design, synthesis and evaluation of novel anticancer and antibacterial agents. 

Current Projects

• Antibiotic Resistance Breaker (ARB) technology.

• Development of new classes of antibacterial agents against multidrug-resistant pathogens.

• Development of new generation antifungal agents.

• Development of chemoresistance breakers against cancer stem cells.

• Development of Anticancer Agents (DNA Interactive and PROTAC).

• Development of chemical tools (e.g., EPI, membrane probes, enzyme inhibitors etc.) to study antimicrobial resistance.

• Development of orthosteric biased antagonists to P2Y1 for anti-inflammatory therapy.

• The exploitation of anaplerotic node as a therapeutic target against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

• Development of new antibiofilm agents through repurposing of existing licensed drugs.

• Identification of New Therapeutic Combinations for Clinical Trial against COVID-19 Through Repurposing of Drugs with Known Safety Profile.

• Development of a Gram-negative membrane penetration rule.

• Mechanistic evaluation of natural products from plant origin.