Mission Therapeutics raises £25.2 million to progress clinical candidates in the area of mitophagy

2024-03-14

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Developing novel therapeutics which enhance the removal of dysfunctional mitochondria, promoting cell health and function

MTX325 is a potentially disease-modifying treatment for Parkinson's Disease with clinical trial due to start imminently

Backed by blue chip international investors

CAMBRIDGE, England, March 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mission Therapeutics ("Mission" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotech developing first-in-class therapeutics that enhance mitophagy to promote cell/organ health, today announces it has raised £25.2 million to progress the clinical development of its drug candidates. The financing was jointly led by existing investors Pfizer Venture Investments, Sofinnova Partners, Roche Venture Fund, SR One, IP Group, and Rosetta Capital.

Mission plans to use the funds to accelerate development of its lead drug candidates, MTX325 and MTX652, through clinical trials. MTX325 and MTX652 both inhibit USP30, a mitochondrial de-ubiquitylating enzyme (DUB), increasing damage-associated mitochondrial ubiquitylation to promote mitophagy – the essential process cells use to rid themselves of dysfunctional mitochondria. A growing body of scientific evidence has linked a build-up of dysfunctional mitochondria in cells to a range of diseases, including Parkinson's Disease (PD), Kidney Disease, Heart Failure, and Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

MTX325, a CNS penetrant which is a potential disease-modifying treatment for Parkinson's Disease, is about to enter Phase I trials; while peripherally-restricted MTX652 is currently in Phase II investigating acute kidney injury (AKI) associated with cardiac surgery.

Dr Anker Lundemose, Chief Executive Officer of Mission Therapeutics, 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."

Dr James B. Summers, Acting Chairman of Mission Therapeutics, said: "Mission's laser focus on mitophagy has resulted in a promising suite of drugs that tackle a range of hard-to-treat diseases in a unique and novel way. This latest financing round is a sign of our investors' confidence in the Company and the enormous potential of our clinical assets."

The Nature Communications paper, published last November by scientists at Cambridge University, Harvard University and Mission Therapeutics, provided key experimental evidence to support the thesis that MTX325 can modify the course of Parkinson's by targeting USP30. By first using a USP30 knockout mouse model, and then a pharmacological strategy deploying MTX325, they found USP30 inhibition led to protection against loss of dopamine and dopaminergic neurons induced by alpha-synuclein in vivo. USP30 inhibition also reduced potential biomarkers of PD including phosphorylated alpha-synuclein and glial cell activation.

In December, the sister publication Nature Reviews Drug Discovery commented that restoring mitophagy to accelerate the removal of damaged mitochondria was "an appealing disease-modifying therapeutic strategy" for Parkinson's Disease.

The same month, Mission gained clearance from the US FDA to commence a Phase II trial of MTX652, after the Company received official approval of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the candidate drug.

About Mission Therapeutics

Mission Therapeutics is a world leader 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. Mission 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.

Mission is backed by blue chip investors including Pfizer Venture Investments, Sofinnova Partners, Roche Venture Fund, SR One, IP Group and Rosetta Capital.

SOURCE Mission Therapeutics