XtalPi (02228.HK) Surges Over 4% on AI-Driven PRMT5 Inhibitor PE-0260 Advancing to IND Stage with PharmaEngine

According to the Zhisheng Finance APP, XtalPi (02228) rose against the market trend by over 4%. As of the time of writing, it increased by 4.03%, trading at HK$6.19, with a turnover of HK$117 million.

On the news front, on June 18, according to XtalPi's official WeChat account, with the help of XtalPi's AI drug discovery platform and PharmaEngine's drug development experience, experts from both sides collaborated to develop PE-0260, a PRMT5 inhibitor with breakthrough therapeutic potential. Currently, PharmaEngine has completed the IND application preparations for PE-0260 and plans to initiate clinical research in the second half of 2025.

According to the introduction, PE-0260 is an orally administrable, blood-brain barrier-penetrant, and highly selective PRMT5 (protein arginine methyltransferase 5) inhibitor. It can bind to PRMT5 through an MTA cooperative binding mode, forming a stable ternary complex. This mechanism achieves selective inhibition of PRMT5, specifically targeting MTAP-deficient tumor cells while having no effect on normal MTAP wild-type cells.

The teams from both parties adopted an AI and computational chemistry-driven rational drug design strategy. By exploring a broader chemical space and utilizing an AI-assisted molecular evaluation system, they screened for activity, selectivity, drug-likeness, developability, and other factors. After multiple rounds of iterative optimization, PE-0260 demonstrated differentiated advantages and was nominated as the preclinical candidate compound (PCC). Additionally, PE-0260 has shown potential for use in combination with other therapies. This compound is expected to become the best-in-class MTA-cooperative PRMT5 inhibitor.