C&C New Drug Research Institute Develops Immune Disease Treatment with CrystalPie

C&C New Drug Research Institute, a subsidiary of JW Pharmaceutical, announced on the 18th that it has signed a joint research agreement with the U.S. AI drug development company XtalPi to develop small molecule compound therapeutics.

At the CrystalPie Shanghai Research Institute, Park Chanhee, CEO of C&C New Drug Research Institute (left), and Peiyu Zhang, CSO of CrystalPie, are posing for a commemorative photo.
[Photo by C&C New Drug Research Institute]

Through this agreement, C&C New Drug Research Institute will utilize XtalPi’s quantum physics-based AI drug development platform and automated robotic system to optimize lead compounds of small molecule therapeutics targeting the STAT6 protein.

STAT6 is known as a key protein that regulates the inflammatory immune response of type 2 helper T cells (Th2). Th2 is activated by inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13, causing asthma and atopic dermatitis. Currently, biological agents targeting IL-4, IL-13 inflammatory cytokines and their receptors, as well as inhibitors targeting Janus kinase (JAK), an upstream protein of STAT, are used as anti-inflammatory treatments; however, small molecule therapeutics targeting STAT6 are known to have no successful development cases yet.

XtalPi was founded in 2015 by quantum physics experts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as an AI drug research and development platform company. Its core technologies include a quantum mechanics-based AI drug development platform and an automated synthesis platform, aiming to reduce the time and effort required for drug development and transform the existing drug research ecosystem.

Previously, C&C New Drug Research Institute secured small molecule lead compounds with direct binding affinity to STAT6 through collaborative research with XtalPi. In this joint research, they plan to optimize the secured small molecule lead compounds to derive STAT6-targeted drug candidates.

A representative of C&C New Drug Research Institute stated, “There is a high medical demand for new targeted therapeutics due to non-responsiveness and side effects of existing anti-inflammatory treatments,” adding, “We will develop STAT6-targeted anti-inflammatory therapeutics specialized for patient groups with high unmet needs for existing treatments.”