Harwell Campus based MitoRx Therapeutics Limited (MitoRx), a biotech company developing novel classes of mitochondrial-targeted agents targeting obesity, has announced a GBP 5.5 million (USD 7.2 million) pre-Series A fundraise.

The investment will be used to progress development of MitoRx’s lead mitochondrial-targeted program, Myo-004, through clinical candidate selection. Myo-004 is a first-in-class injectable small molecule designed to achieve weight loss, without loss of lean mass. The funding will also support an on-going oral program within MitoRx’s Candidate Engine, a platform for the generation and profiling of additional candidates.

The pre-Series A financing was led of Oshen Holdings SA (Luxembourg) with significant participation from existing investors. This fundraise follows a recent series of compelling preclinical data.

“This MitoRx fundraise clearly shows investors understand that protection of lean mass including muscle is key to therapeutic weight loss. Our small molecules drive fat loss while preserving lean mass through a unique mechanism of action”, said Jon Rees, CEO and Co-Founder, MitoRx Therapeutics. “This pre-Series A fundraise will enable MitoRx to complete a comprehensive data package demonstrating that its novel mitochondrial-targeted agents are efficacious, safe and well tolerated solutions for people living with obesity, driving a better quality of weight loss than GLP-1 receptor agonists.”

“Obesity has reached unprecedented levels, affecting close to 900 million people worldwide and continuing to rise exponentially,” said Justin Cahill, Managing Partner of Oshen Holdings SA. “While GLP-q therapies have marked an important step forward, emerging data make it clear they are not the long-term answer. People living with obesity need next-generation solutions that deliver sustainable weight control with fewer side-effects and broader metabolic benefits. MitoRx’s compelling preclinical data package positions it at the forefront of this next wave of innovation. The company’s approach demonstrates meaningful reductions in body and liver gat while preserving muscle mass and insulin sensitivity – key differentiators from current standard treatments. We are delighted to back MitoRx in its mission to develop a truly differentiated, long-term therapeutic solution to address the escalating global obesity crisis.”

MitoRx Therapeutics’ first-in-class first-in-mechanism mitochondriotropic platform has the potential to address some of the most challenging diseases, focusing initially on obesity-related indications and myopathies, and expandable to broad additional areas of medicine. MitoRx’s restoration-of-function the sulfide-signaling system in metabolic disease models has been independently demonstrated to be both anti-obesogenic and muscle-protective.

To read more about MitoRx latest fundraise, click here.