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Exhibit 99.1 PLIANT THERAPEUTICS Pliant Therapeutics Provides Corporate Update and Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results FORTIFY , a Phase 1b indication expansion trial of PLN - 101095 , experiencing strong enrollment Appointed seasoned oncology drug development leaders Flavia Borellini , Ph.D. and Robert Iannone , M.D. , M.S.C.E. to Board of Directors SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO , CA. , August 11 , 2026 - Pliant Therapeutics , Inc. ( Nasdaq : PLRX ) , a clinical - stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of integrin - based therapeutics , today provided a corporate update and reported second quarter 2026 financial results . " In the second quarter , we continued to execute across the portfolio , led by strong enrollment in FORTIFY , ” said Bernard Coulie , M.D. , Ph.D. , President and Chief Executive Officer of Pliant . “ With the appointments of Flavia and Robert to the board , Pliant now has deep global oncology drug development and commercialization expertise at this important time for our oncology program . We continue to make progress on our proprietary integrin - targeted drug - delivery platform and look forward to sharing more information on the platform soon . ” Oncology Program PLN - 101095 is an oral , small molecule , dual selective inhibitor of avẞ8 and avẞ1 integrins designed to overcome checkpoint resistance by blocking TGF - ß activation in the tumor microenvironment . Pliant is currently conducting FORTIFY , a Phase 1a / lb open - label , dose - escalation and indication expansion trial ( NCT0670706 ) , to evaluate the safety , tolerability , pharmacokinetics , and preliminary evidence of antitumor activity of PLN - 101095 , in combination with pembrolizumab , in patients with immune checkpoint inhibitor ( ICI ) -refractory advanced or metastatic solid tumors . • Enrollment continues in FORTIFY , a Phase 1b indication expansion trial . FORTIFY will enroll up to 102 patients across three cohorts including non - small cell lung cancer ( NSCLC ) , clear cell renal cell carcinoma ( ccRCC ) and tumors with high tumor mutational burden . Patients are treated for 14 days with PLN - 101095 dosed at 1,000 mg twice daily as monotherapy , after which pembrolizumab is added as combination therapy . Enrollment remains strong , progressing ahead of schedule . Interim data is expected in 2027 . Oral presentation at AACR of updated PLN - 101095 Phase 1 data highlights monotherapy biomarker data showing a coordinated T - cell reactivation cascade in responders . In July , at the American Association for Cancer Research's ( AACR ) Drug Discovery and Development conference , the Company reviewed encouraging PLN - 101095 Phase 1 monotherapy biomarker data . As previously reported , all responding patients showed large increases in plasma interferon gamma ( IFN - y ) , a modulator of anti - tumor immunity , after 14 days of monotherapy with PLN- 101095. Updated data show that blocking of avẞ8 by PLN - 101095 also resulted in increases in CXCL9 , a recruiter of T cells , and granzyme - B , a marker for cytotoxic arming in responding patients . Increased IFN - y , CXCL9 and granzyme - B after PLN - 101095 monotherapy signals a shift in the tumor microenvironment that could potentially resensitize tumors to pembrolizumab . Importantly , no non - responders experienced increases in these biomarkers . Integrin - Targeted Delivery Platform