Mission Therapeutics, a Cambridge, UK-based clinical-stage biotech company developing therapeutics that enhance mitophagy to promote cell/organ health, raised £25.2M in funding.
The round was led by existing investors Pfizer Venture Investments, Sofinnova Partners, Roche Venture Fund, SR One, IP Group, and Rosetta Capital.
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate development of its lead drug candidates, MTX325 and MTX652, through clinical trials.
Led by CEO Dr Anker Lundemose, Mission Therapeutics is a company which specializes in discovering and developing novel therapeutics which promote the removal of dysfunctional mitochondria, promoting cell health and function. Mitochondria are energy producing organelles which require lifetime quality control through a ubiquitin-mediated clearance mechanism known as mitophagy. In certain situations, such as cellular stress, cell injury, and/or defects of the mitophagy process, the mitochondria can become dysfunctional and damaging to the cell, leading to reduced energy production, oxidative stress, inflammation and potentially cell death. Dysfunctional mitochondria are significant drivers of disease pathophysiology in acute kidney injury (AKI), Parkinson’s Disease (PD), heart failure, Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy, IPF, mitochondrial diseases and Alzheimer’s.
USP30 is a deubiquitylating enzyme that constantly removes ubiquitin from mitochondria, providing a potential brake on clearance of dysfunctional mitochondria.
The company is currently developing two small molecule drugs, MTX652 (peripheral) and MTX325 (targeting the CNS) which, through inhibition of the mitochondrial DUB enzyme USP30, will promote clearance of dysfunctional mitochondria – consequently improving overall cellular health. Mission’s USP30 inhibitors MTX652 and MTX325 could potentially be used to treat any disease or condition driven by mitochondrial dysfunction.
Commenting on the news, Dr Anker Lundemose said: “Mission Therapeutics has made huge strides in developing its pipeline, first progressing MTX652 into Phase II, then obtaining robust preclinical proof-of-concept data for its Parkinson’s candidate MTX325 – published in Nature Communications – followed by regulatory approval for MTX325 clinical trials in the UK. Thanks to this additional £25.2m from our investors, we can now make the next vital steps, progressing with essential clinical trials.”
FinSMEs
14/03/2024