Fifteen Small Businesses that are Making a Splash in the Big City
December 7, 2016
Mitochon’s mission is to bring forward meaningful drugs that work at the root of insidious neurological diseases. By harnessing the power of the mitochondria, they believe that devastating diseases like Huntingtons disease, Duchennes muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis can be hastened and lives can be more fully lived.
About Mitochon Pharmaceuticals
Mitochon was founded in 2014 with the mission to develop treatments for insidious diseases through the modulation of mitochondrial physiology, with applications to neurodegeneration, neuromuscular, and developmental diseases. Mitochon’s lead programs, MP101 and MP201, specifically harnesses the power of the mitochondria to provide broad neural protection. These compounds elicit mild increases in energy expenditure that result in strengthening cellular survival—similar to the positive effects seen with fasting and exercise. These compounds also induce an important neurotrophin, Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), involved in cognition and neural growth. Mitochon is supported by Ben Franklin Technology Partners Southeastern PA, an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development funded by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority.