XtalPi Inc.’s Innovation Center (2228.HK) today announced a strategic partnership with Hangzhou JingJiaHang BioPharma Technology Co., Ltd. (“JingJiaHang”) to develop novel radionuclide drug conjugates (RDCs) using AI-driven technologies. XtalPi’s Innovation Center will leverage its AI and automated experimentation-driven peptide discovery platform, PepiX, to identify and design novel peptide precursors targeting overexpressed tumor cell markers. JingJiaHang, with its expertise in radionuclide drug development, will oversee the design and development of the radiopharmaceuticals. By combining their technological strengths through an innovative “AI + radiopharmaceutical” model, the two companies aim to develop next-generation peptide-based RDCs, offering more precise and effective treatment options for cancer patients and addressing current bottlenecks in oncology therapies.
Promising Outlook for RDCs and Peptide Carriers
Radionuclide Drug Conjugates (RDCs), which combine targeted molecules with radioactive isotopes, represent a promising frontier in precision oncology, enabling targeted tumor cell destruction with both diagnostic and therapeutic potential. The global radiopharmaceutical market is experiencing robust growth. According to a 2025 report by Verified Market Reports, the market was valued at approximately $3.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.5% from 2026 to 2033. In China, Frost & Sullivan data indicates that the radiopharmaceutical market grew from RMB 3 billion in 2021 to RMB 5.4 billion in 2023, achieving a CAGR of 21.64%. Given RDCs’ unique advantages in precision therapy and integrated diagnostics, demand continues to surge, prompting major global pharmaceutical and biotech companies to accelerate their investments in this space.
Peptides, as clinically validated targeting molecules for RDCs, offer distinct advantages, including high selectivity, strong tissue penetration, low immunogenicity, and excellent biocompatibility. Their chemical properties also make them easily modifiable for radionuclide labeling, enhancing their clinical potential.
However, RDC development faces significant challenges, including insufficient specificity of targeting molecules (leading to off-target toxicity in normal cells) and poor compatibility with radionuclide labeling (which can compromise molecular structure or targeting ability). These hurdles result in low development efficiency and high barriers to clinical translation, leaving unmet needs in cancer treatment.
The urgent demand for innovative molecular discovery strategies, driven by the promising market potential and critical need for precision therapies, underscores the need for breakthrough RDC candidates.
XtalPi’s PepiX Platform: A Game-Changing Solution
XtalPi’s PepiX platform, powered by proprietary AI generative algorithms, enables rapid construction and efficient screening of novel peptide ligands tailored for RDC development. Integrating AI-driven molecular design with high-throughput wet-lab synthesis and validation, the platform supports diverse molecular forms, including linear peptides, cyclic peptides, bicyclic peptides, and those incorporating non-natural amino acids (NCAAs). This flexibility, combined with high success rates, makes PepiX ideally suited to address the complex demands of RDC development. The platform has built a library of over 2,000 structurally diverse, novel, and synthesizable NCAA monomers, fully parameterized for computation, expanding the chemical space for designing highly stable and selective radiopharmaceutical ligands.
In this collaboration, XtalPi’s Innovation Center will utilize PepiX to precisely identify and generate highly specific peptide libraries for selected tumor targets. Through high-throughput wet-lab screening and optimization, coupled with iterative feedback from experimental data, XtalPi will rapidly develop peptide candidates with high affinity, stability, and optimal radionuclide labeling properties.
PepiX has already powered dozens of projects targeting complex proteins such as enzymes, hormones, membrane proteins, cytokines, and disordered transcription factors, advancing peptide drug development in areas like cancer, autoimmune diseases, ophthalmology, and neurodegenerative disorders. Beyond pharmaceuticals, the platform’s rapid and precise molecular design capabilities have driven successful cases in health product development and cosmetic ingredient innovation, with several projects reaching key milestones or entering market registration. Its core technologies—including AI-driven peptide generation, “one-bead-one-compound” combinatorial library screening, and trillion-scale mRNA display peptide library screening—have earned recognition from domestic and international clients, establishing a robust, integrated peptide R&D platform with high technical barriers and leadership in both innovation and commercialization.
A Powerful Partnership
JingJiaHang brings extensive expertise and experience in radiopharmaceutical development and commercialization, with a comprehensive platform covering innovative ligand discovery, radionuclide labeling, quality control, preclinical evaluation, and rapid clinical translation. Its core team, composed of seasoned radiopharmaceutical experts, excels in isotope selection, labeling process optimization, and radiation safety management. JingJiaHang currently has eight pipeline candidates, with its JJH002 program standing out for addressing the challenge of short tumor retention time. JJH002 has shown superior performance and is advancing to investigator-initiated trials (IIT) and IND application stages, positioning it as a potential best-in-class candidate. Additionally, JingJiaHang has strategically focused on α- and β-emitting radionuclide drugs and secured stable isotope supply channels, laying a strong foundation for future radiopharmaceutical industrialization.
The collaboration between XtalPi’s Innovation Center and JingJiaHang is poised to accelerate the clinical application of innovative peptide-based RDCs.
Dr. Lai Lipeng, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of XtalPi, stated: “We are thrilled to partner with JingJiaHang. The synergy between XtalPi’s AI-driven peptide discovery platform and JingJiaHang’s radiopharmaceutical industrialization expertise will accelerate the development of innovative peptide-based RDCs. We look forward to this collaboration delivering more clinical solutions and bringing hope to cancer patients worldwide.”
Dr. Gao Limei, Founder of JingJiaHang, added: “Our partnership with XtalPi will fast-track JingJiaHang’s progress in peptide-based radiopharmaceutical development. With XtalPi’s PepiX platform and our preclinical and clinical development capabilities, we are confident in delivering superior, competitive radiopharmaceutical pipelines.”
About JingJiaHang
Founded in May 2024 by Dr. Gao Limei, a veteran radiopharmaceutical industry expert, and Dr. Lai Jianliang, Chairman of JingYe Intelligent with decades of experience in the nuclear industry, JingJiaHang is a clinical-stage innovative drug company focused on developing novel targeted radiopharmaceuticals. Its core team, composed of industry experts and technical specialists, brings extensive experience in radiopharmaceutical research, preclinical and clinical development, regulatory registration, radiation safety management, and industrial innovation, ensuring the successful advancement of its projects.
References:
[1] Radionuclide Drug Conjugates (RDC) Market Insights. Verified Market Reports.
[2] 2024 China Radiopharmaceutical Industry Demand Analysis. Frost & Sullivan.
