SHENZHEN, China, September 9th, 2026 — XtalPi Holdings Ltd. (HKEX: 2228), a technology company driving innovation in life sciences and new materials through AI and robotics, and META Pharmaceuticals [Inc.], a biotechnology company focused on immunometabolism, today announced that MP-5342 has completed IND-enabling safety and efficacy studies. MP-5342 is a jointly developed oral, highly selective inhibitor of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) with the potential to be first-in-class in autoimmune disease.
The preclinical data demonstrated robust efficacy, safety, and drug-like properties:
- Preclinical safety: MP-5342 demonstrated a safety margin exceeding 600-fold in rat studies conducted under Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) standards. The program also completed GLP toxicology studies in dogs and preliminary toxicology studies in monkeys, providing additional data to support clinical development.
- Activity in IBD models: MP-5342 showed efficacy across the IBD models evaluated. In comparative preclinical studies, it provided greater intestinal protection than the biologic and oral therapies tested. It also retained activity in models of resistance to existing treatments and showed enhanced efficacy when combined with biologics.
- Anti-fibrotic potential: MP-5342 showed potential to reduce IBD-associated intestinal fibrosis in preclinical studies. Studies using patient-derived organoids and immune cells provided further evidence of biological activity relevant to its development for IBD.
META Pharmaceuticals led target research and biological validation, drawing on its expertise in immunometabolism. XtalPi contributed computational modeling, including free-energy perturbation calculations, and its automated robotic platform to support compound screening, synthesis, testing and iterative optimization.
This collaboration supported the selection of MP-5342 as a preclinical candidate and its subsequent advancement toward an IND submission. Together with META-001-PH, the program provides further evidence of the partnership’s ability to translate immunometabolism research into drug candidates progressing toward clinical development.
