XtalPi and Singleron Announce Strategic Collaboration to Develop AI-Driven Targeted Cancer Therapies Using Single-Cell Sequencing

Today, XtalPi, an AI-driven drug R&D company leveraging digitalization and intelligence to advance pharmaceutical innovation, and Singleron, a high-throughput single-cell sequencing technology company, announced the signing of a strategic partnership. The two parties will combine their respective platform advantages in target screening and new drug discovery to jointly develop novel therapeutics against potential targets for several tumor types prevalent in Asian populations, thereby providing next-generation innovative drugs for molecular targeted cancer therapy.

The most common malignant tumors in Asian populations include various gastrointestinal cancers such as esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and colorectal cancer, which are generally characterized by diagnostic challenges and low rates of early detection. In recent years, alongside traditional treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, targeted cancer therapy has emerged as a research hotspot; however, the availability of drugs and therapeutic targets remains highly limited, leaving patient treatment needs far from adequately met.

In this collaboration, Singleron will leverage its single-cell sequencing data platform and target screening platform to evaluate and recommend potential targets for tumors prevalent among Asian populations. XtalPi’s AI R&D Center will then undertake new drug discovery and design, recommending preclinical candidate compounds, followed by joint experimental validation and optimization of drug activity and efficacy by both parties. The collaboration will pursue multiple research avenues in parallel to validate potential targets and discover new drugs, thereby enhancing the success rate and efficiency of targeted drug development, reducing costs and risks, accelerating the identification of preclinical candidates for novel targets, and bringing more personalized treatment options to cancer patients.

A major efficiency bottleneck in targeted drug development lies in the discovery and validation of new targets. Singleron will leverage its proprietary single-cell sequencing platform, GEXSCOPE.^®️Integrated with the SynEcoSys™ database, Singleron’s SingleTron™ target screening algorithm enables the cost-effective and efficient construction of proprietary clinical sample datasets for specific tumors. Through precise detection, annotation, characterization, and in-depth data mining of cancer cells, combined with necessary experimental validation, the algorithm identifies credible novel targets and ranks them by priority. Singleron’s drug target screening platform has already been applied in target discovery and drug repurposing for other cancer types. Leveraging its technological advantages in high-throughput functional drug screening, Singleron is helping more pharmaceutical companies accelerate the identification of preclinical drug candidates at a lower cost.

In response to the novel cancer therapy targets selected by Singleron, XtalPi will leverage its AI-driven intelligent drug discovery platform to generate a drug-like chemical space comprising millions to tens of millions of molecules. Subsequently, physics-based and AI models will be employed to perform multi-layered prediction and screening of key molecular properties, ultimately yielding a small number of candidate compounds with ideal activity, selectivity, and other critical physicochemical properties for experimental validation. Currently, XtalPi’s intelligent drug discovery platform has supported the discovery of more than 30 new drug molecules, with the most advanced project having entered preclinical research. Based on existing collaboration data, XtalPi’s AI drug discovery platform can shorten the timeline from target identification to preclinical research by several months to one year, reducing experimental requirements by up to 90%.

Co-founder of XtalPi and Head of the XtalPi AI R&D Center

Dr. Li Lipeng

Dr. Li Lipeng, Co-founder of XtalPi and Head of the XtalPi AI R&D Center, stated, “By collaborating with upstream partners like Singleron that possess target discovery capabilities, we aim to effectively bridge the link between target discovery and drug design, further unleashing the potential of AI to accelerate the enrichment of our innovative drug pipeline and enhance cost-efficiency in targeted drug development. We hope this collaboration will provide a broader range of first- and second-line treatment options for common malignant tumors, delivering targeted and competitive cancer therapeutics to patients worldwide.”

Founder and CEO of Singleron

Dr. Fang Nan

Dr. Fang Nan, Founder and CEO of Singleron, stated, “Personalized diagnosis and treatment of cancer represent the future trend. Singleron is committed to leveraging its proprietary high-throughput single-cell sequencing platform to facilitate precise drug target screening and efficient validation. We look forward to this strategic partnership with XtalPi, where we will fully capitalize on our respective technological strengths. By integrating advanced single-cell sequencing technologies with AI-driven drug discovery algorithms, we aim to accelerate the development of targeted therapies for cancer types prevalent among Asian populations from multiple dimensions. We also anticipate that this collaboration will yield substantial outcomes, bringing new solutions to oncology treatment.”

About XtalPi

XtalPi is a technology-driven pharmaceutical R&D company that leverages cutting-edge computational physics, quantum chemistry, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing to provide intelligent drug discovery services to innovative pharmaceutical companies worldwide. We aim to enhance the efficiency and success rate of critical stages in drug development, reduce R&D costs, and deliver more high-quality medicines to patients.

XtalPi was founded on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Its core team comprises top talents from academia, the IT and internet sectors, and the pharmaceutical industry. Headquartered in Shenzhen, with branches in Beijing, Boston, and Shanghai, XtalPi has successfully provided drug R&D services to more than 70 pioneering pharmaceutical companies from the United States, Europe, China, and Japan since its inception.

For more information, please visitwww.jingtaikeji.com。

About Singleron

Singleron, established in Nanjing in 2018, is dedicated to the development and clinical application of high-throughput single-cell sequencing products. It provides users with a one-stop, comprehensive product platform for single-cell sequencing solutions, including the independently developed and manufactured Singleron Matrix™ automated single-cell sequencing library preparation instrument, GEXSCOPE^®Singleron offers a comprehensive portfolio of high-throughput single-cell sequencing kits, the CeleScope™ bioinformatics analysis software, and the SynEcoSys™ single-cell database, having served nearly 300 renowned hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and research institutions both in China and abroad. Adhering to the innovative philosophy of “exploring the essence of things to attain knowledge, and discerning the subtle to comprehend the fundamental,” Singleron is dedicated to applying breakthrough single-cell technologies to scientific research, clinical diagnostics, health management, and drug development.

For more information about Singleron Biotechnology Co., Ltd., please visitwww.singleronbio.com。