PR99338

SHANGHAI and HANGZHOU, China, Dec. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

MindRank, an artificial intelligence (AI)-empowered drug discovery company,

announces today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared

the company's Investigational New Drug (IND) application for MDR-001, an oral

small-molecule glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA), for the

treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), respectively.

MindRank expects to initiate a Phase I safety study in the first quarter of

2023.

Empowered by Mindrank's proprietary AI drug discovery platform, Molecule Pro™,

it just took the company 19 months to obtain the IND approval since the MDR-001

program was initiated. With fewer than 100 chemical compounds synthesized and

tested, the preclinical candidate was discovered.

"By facilitating novel small molecule drug design with desired drug-like

properties, we believe our AI platform can significantly improve the

pre-clinical R&D efficiency. The FDA IND approval of MDR-001 is a solid

validation for the potential of our AI platform." commented Zhangming Niu, CEO

of MindRank. This heralds the transition of MindRank from a discovery-stage to

a clinical-stage AI-empowered biotechnology company.

About MDR-001

MDR-001 is a novel, orally bioavailable small-molecule GLP-1 RA discovered

using MindRank's proprietary AI platform, Molecule Pro™. In the comprehensive

preclinical studies, MDR-001 has demonstrated excellent functional potency and

selectivity, with favorable ADME properties and oral bioavailability, as well

as desirable pharmacokinetics and tolerability. MDR-001's superior preclinical

efficacy and safety profiles indicate its best-in-class potential for Obesity

and T2DM indications with large unmet medical needs.

About MindRank

MindRank is an artificial intelligence (AI)-empowered drug discovery company.

By leveraging its proprietary AI platform, Molecule Pro, the company aims to

significantly accelerate the drug discovery process and deliver small molecule

drugs with desirable efficacy and safety profiles.

To learn more, visit www.mindrank.ai .

SOURCE: MindRank