On 9 January, Mitochon Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company focused on developing drugs that target the mitochondria for a host of serious diseases with significant unmet medical needs, announced that it was awarded approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to initiate a new biomarker study in neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of this Phase I/IIa study is to show safety of MP101 in people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Huntington’s Disease (HD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and demonstrate meaningful changes in disease specific biomarkers. MP101 is an oral brain penetrant mitochondrial stimulator, that improves central nervous system survival and function. Participants will receive MP101 once daily in this 14-day pilot study. Successful completion of this study will provide the basis for long term Phase IIb clinical studies in ALS, MS, HD, and AD, leading to the first mitochondrial specific therapy for these truly insidious diseases.
