Artificial intelligence is beginning to influence not just how new drugs are discovered, but how existing experimental medicines are repositioned as competition tightens across major therapeutic markets.
MetaVia, a U.S.-based biotech affiliated with Dong-A ST, one of South Korea’s established pharmaceutical companies with a growing focus on global drug development, said it has identified potential new uses for its lead drug candidate beyond its original focus on metabolic disease, following an AI-driven reassessment of the compound’s biological activity.
The company has been developing DA-1241, an oral GPR119 agonist, for metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis and Type 2 diabetes, areas that have drawn intense interest and heavy investment from global drugmakers. Using artificial intelligence to analyze how the compound interacts with disease-related proteins, MetaVia now sees potential applications in inflammatory and cardiometabolic conditions, as well as cancer.
The analysis was conducted with Syntekabio, which applied its DeepMatcher platform to model compound–protein interactions and link them with existing clinical data. The results highlighted signaling pathways associated with reduced inflammation, a mechanism that could extend the drug’s relevance beyond metabolic regulation.
Cancer-related pathways emerging from the analysis were particularly notable, the company said, suggesting that DA-1241’s effects may reach into disease areas far removed from its initial development plan. In therapeutic fields where differentiation is increasingly difficult, such indication expansion can alter how a pipeline asset is valued and how long it remains strategically viable.
DA-1241 works by stimulating the release of gut hormones such as GLP-1, GIP and PYY, affecting glucose control, lipid metabolism and body weight. Its oral formulation and suitability for combination therapy position it as a flexible option in markets increasingly dominated by complex treatment regimens.
The AI findings build on clinical data rather than replacing them. In a Phase 2a trial involving 109 patients treated over 16 weeks, MetaVia reported improvements in glucose metabolism, direct liver effects and favorable safety and tolerability. The company said the AI modeling helps explain those outcomes at a molecular level while pointing to additional therapeutic avenues.
As development costs rise and competition intensifies, drugmakers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to reassess existing assets rather than relying solely on new discovery. MetaVia said it will continue advancing DA-1241 for MASH and Type 2 diabetes while using the AI results to guide further indication exploration.
For Dong-A ST, which has been expanding its footprint through U.S.-based operations, the strategy reflects how mid-sized pharmaceutical companies are attempting to remain competitive globally by extracting more strategic value from a single, promising compound.
