Mission Therapeutics Nominates First Development Candidates Targeting USP30

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CAMBRIDGE, UK– 25 March 2021 – Mission Therapeutics (“Mission”), a drug discovery and development company focused on selectively inhibiting deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs), has nominated the first two development candidates from its in-house USP30 inhibitor program.

USP30 inhibitor candidates MTX652 and MTX114 will be advanced through preclinical good laboratory practice (GLP) toxicology studies during 2021, with a view to initiating clinical studies in early 2022.

Over 100 human DUBs have been identified to date, with many different functions in diverse cellular processes. These versatile enzymes are attracting increasing interest as possible drug targets due to numerous links with disease pathologies.

DUB USP30 plays a central role in controlling the quality of mitochondria by regulating mitophagy, the process by which dysfunctional mitochondria are degraded. Inhibition of USP30 promotes mitophagy and therefore increases clearance of impaired mitochondria, potentially improving cellular health and longevity.

Targeting this mitochondrial-associated DUB with selective inhibitors has the potential to treat a range of diseases, including renal diseases, such as acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), neurodegenerative diseases, and rare mitochondrial diseases.

Commenting on the milestone, Dr Anker Lundemose, CEO of Mission Therapeutics said: “Nominating our first in-house development candidates targeting USP30 is another great step for Mission and further evidence of the quality and capabilities of our DUB inhibitor discovery platform. We are looking forward to the next exciting phase of development as we progress these lead assets into the clinic.”

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Mission Therapeutics Ltd
Anker Lundemose MD PhD
Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +44 (0)1223 607 340

Instinctif Partners
Melanie Toyne-Sewell / Katie Duffell
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7457 2013
missiontherapeutics@instinctif.com

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Mission Therapeutics

Mission Therapeutics is an early-stage drug development company targeting the ubiquitin pathway for the treatment of kidney disease, neurodegenerative disease, rare mitochondrial diseases and fibrosis. The Company has built a leading platform for the discovery and development of first-in-class, small molecule drugs that selectively target deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) – an emerging drug class that is attracting significant commercial interest in the area of protein homeostasis.

Mission has strong links with key academic and research centers, including Prof. Steve Jackson’s Cancer Research UK Laboratories at the University of Cambridge Gurdon Institute, and leading UK centres in neurodegenerative diseases. The Company also has secured major industry partnerships, including its collaboration with AbbVie in November 2018, for the research and preclinical development of specified DUB inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. The Company is managed by a team with broad international, commercial and clinical-science experience.

To date the Company has received £73 million /$101 million in funding and its investors comprise blue chip institutional and corporate investors including: Pfizer Venture Investments, Sofinnova Partners, Roche Venture Fund, SR One, IP Group and Rosetta Capital. Mission Therapeutics was founded in 2011 and is based at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK.

For more information, please visit our website, www.missiontherapeutics.com, or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.