Over 600 times the safety margin, Jingtai(02228) empowers Merta Bio to develop the world's first oral LDH inhibitor, making a key breakthrough and targeting the hundred-billion-dollar autoimmune market

Bloomberg Finance APP has learned that recently, Jing Tai Technology (02228) incubated company META Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that its first clinical development candidate molecule (PCC) MP-5342 for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been identified. The company is actively preparing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application, with the earliest expected to initiate formal clinical trial registration in the second half of 2026. MP-5342 is Jing Tai Technology’s first oral small-molecule lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) inhibitor developed through its empowerment of META Pharmaceuticals.

As a potential first-in-class (FIC) and best-in-class (BIC) candidate drug that truly achieves source innovation, MP-5342 precisely targets the underlying biological mechanisms of immune metabolism, using metabolic reprogramming to reshape immune balance, alter disease progression, and achieve safer, more effective anti-inflammatory treatment. It is expected to fill the treatment gap for LDH targets. This pipeline not only covers the hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars first-approved indication market for IBD but also, with its broad-spectrum mechanism, has huge potential to rapidly expand into high-incidence autoimmune indications such as multiple sclerosis (MS), atopic dermatitis, and others, with market space potentially soaring into the hundred-billion-dollar golden track.

MP-5342 is the second innovative drug pipeline jointly developed by Jing Tai Technology and META Pharmaceuticals that is about to enter clinical development. This progress once again strongly validates Jing Tai Technology’s leading strength in source innovation breakthroughs, efficient clinical translation, and technological reproducibility through its AI + robotic drug discovery platform. Leveraging its unique platform technology advantages, Jing Tai Technology is extensively empowering the development of a new generation of innovative drugs, systematically and at scale, to develop high-value pipeline assets for partners and create value for the industry.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, debilitating disease with no definitive cure currently. Data shows that the global IBD treatment market is expected to grow from $29.57 billion in 2024 to $44.08 billion in 2032, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8%. However, existing therapies generally face key challenges such as clinical remission rates below 40%, drug resistance, significant systemic side effects, and disease recurrence, resulting in substantial unmet needs. Targeted inhibition of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), an emerging therapeutic strategy, can effectively regulate T cell and B cell functions by controlling key enzymes in cellular glucose metabolism, potentially rebalance dysregulated immune systems, restore abnormal immune cell functions, and show broad potential in various autoimmune diseases including IBD.

MP-5342 is an oral LDH inhibitor developed through collaboration between Jing Tai Technology and META Pharmaceuticals based on its AI + robotic drug discovery platform. During drug discovery, META Pharmaceuticals successfully identified and validated LDH as a key target based on cutting-edge “immune metabolism checkpoint” theory. Jing Tai Technology used advanced XFEP (free energy perturbation) calculations to accurately evaluate the binding strength of candidate molecules to target proteins, quickly identifying core molecular structures with higher activity and better drug-like properties; simultaneously, high-throughput robotic platforms accelerated the synthesis, testing, and iterative optimization of compounds, providing multi-dimensional core technical support for META Pharmaceuticals to rapidly confirm MP-5342 as a preclinical candidate compound (PCC) for IBD treatment.

Preclinical data fully demonstrate the advantages of MP-5342 as a potential first-in-class and best-in-class candidate drug. In animal disease models, MP-5342 exhibits a safety window exceeding 600 times, far surpassing the industry’s typical safety threshold (>40 times). In six different mechanism-induced standard efficacy models for the first-approved indication IBD, MP-5342 showed significant efficacy, with higher safety and lower side effects compared to existing standard therapies. When combined with novel biologics, MP-5342 is expected to precisely address current treatment pain points, achieve rapid inflammation relief, accelerate mucosal repair, and significantly reduce recurrence risk, providing more durable disease remission. Its oral administration will greatly improve patient compliance and convenience, reduce long-term medication costs, and positively support the healthcare system.

Based on immune metabolism pathway regulation, MP-5342 shows strong potential for indication expansion, with the possibility of rapidly covering high-incidence autoimmune diseases caused by immune and metabolic system disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS), atopic dermatitis, and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). With its broad regulation of underlying immune metabolic mechanisms, MP-5342 could rival broad-spectrum therapeutic drugs in the same field with annual sales reaching hundreds of millions or billions of dollars, targeting the global autoimmune market exceeding one trillion dollars.

Previously, Jing Tai Technology and META Pharmaceuticals developed the world’s first small-molecule inhibitor META-001-PH for primary hyperoxaluria, which has received FDA orphan drug designation (ODD) and rare pediatric disease designation (RPDD). As a leading AI + robotic drug discovery platform globally, Jing Tai Technology has continuously validated its ability to efficiently translate cutting-edge biological discoveries into competitive pipeline assets through collaborations like MP-5342 and META-001-PH.

As innovative drug pipelines discovered and optimized through Jing Tai Technology’s participation gradually enter clinical stages, the company will continue accumulating data to iteratively upgrade its AI algorithms, empowering more partners to accelerate source innovation breakthroughs, bringing global breakthrough therapies to patients faster, and accelerating the realization of AI’s enormous social and economic value in biomedicine.

About META Pharmaceuticals

META Pharmaceuticals Inc. is an innovative drug company focused on autoimmune and metabolic diseases, incubated by AI pharmaceutical pioneer Jing Tai Technology, Forcefield Ventures, and IMO Ventures, with investments from TianTu Capital, YaYi Capital, FangYuan Capital, New Industry Venture Capital, Daxun Investment, and Bopu Capital. Based on cutting-edge emerging biological theories, META develops safer and more effective treatments for autoimmune and metabolic diseases by regulating cellular metabolism activity to effectively modulate immune system functions and other physiological systems, focusing on first-in-class innovative drugs to meet urgent global patient needs.

About Jing Tai Technology

Jing Tai Technology (XtalPi Holdings Limited, stock short name: Jing Tai Holdings, XTALPI, stock code: 02228) was founded by three MIT physicists in 2015. It is an innovative R&D platform based on quantum physics, empowered by AI and driven by robotics. The company combines quantum physics-based first-principles calculations, artificial intelligence, high-performance cloud computing, and scalable, standardized robotic automation to provide drug and material science R&D solutions and services for global and domestic companies in pharmaceuticals, materials science (including agricultural technology, energy, new chemicals, and cosmetics).