JW C&C Research Laboratories (JW C&C), a subsidiary of JW Pharmaceutical, announced on December 18 that it has signed a collaboration agreement with XtalPi, a US-based artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery company, to develop small molecule therapeutics.
Under the agreement, JW C&C will use XtalPi's quantum physics-based AI drug discovery platform and automated robotic system to optimize lead compounds for small molecule therapeutics targeting the STAT6 protein.
STAT6 is known to be a key protein that regulates the inflammatory immune response of type 2 helper T cells (Th2). Type 2 helper T cells are activated by inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 4 (IL4) and interleukin 13 (IL13), which contribute to diseases such as asthma and atopic dermatitis.
Current anti-inflammatory therapies include biologics targeting IL4 and IL13 inflammatory cytokines and receptors, as well as inhibitors targeting JAK, the parent protein of STAT. No small molecule therapeutics for STAT6 are known to have been successfully developed.
XtalPi is an AI drug discovery platform company founded in 2015 by quantum physics experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The company has a quantum mechanics-based AI drug development platform and an automated synthesis platform as its core technologies, and was established to shorten the time and effort required for drug development and change the existing drug research ecosystem by utilizing them.
Previously, JW C&C secured small molecule lead compounds with direct binding to STAT6 through collaborative research with XtalPi. In this joint research, JW C&C plans to optimize the small molecule lead compounds to derive new drug candidates targeting STAT6.
"There is a high medical demand for new targeted therapies due to refractoriness and side effects of existing anti-inflammatory therapies," said an official from JW C&C. "We will develop STAT6-targeted anti-inflammatory therapies specific to patient groups with high unmet needs for existing therapies."
