MindRank, a clinical-stage artificial intelligence (AI)-empowered drug discovery company, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in the Phase III clinical trial of MDR-001, its AI-designed oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes in China.

The Phase III study, MOBILE, is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the long-term efficacy and safety of MDR-001 in approximately 750 patients across 50 clinical centers in China. The study is led by Professor Linong Ji of Peking University People’s Hospital.

MDR-001 is a biased, selective oral GLP-1 receptor agonist discovered and optimized using MindRank’s proprietary AI-enabled drug discovery platform. In a completed Phase IIb trial, MDR-001 demonstrated clinically meaningful efficacy, favorable tolerability, and improvements in cardiometabolic parameters, supporting its potential as a best-in-class therapy.

The molecule was identified using MindRank’s proprietary AI platform - Molecule Pro™, which is an end-to-end drug discovery platform to facilitate lead optimization across critical parameters. The program progressed from project initiation to U.S. IND clearance in 19 months and advanced to Phase III within approximately 4.5 years.

“Dosing the first patient in Phase III represents a major milestone for MDR-001 and for AI-enabled drug development,” said Zhangming Niu, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MindRank. “We believe MDR-001 demonstrates how AI-driven discovery can accelerate innovation and deliver differentiated therapies to patients.”