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University of Kentucky, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Mitochon Pharmaceuticals Awarded NIH Grant for Traumatic Brain Injury Studies

June 23, 2020

Blue Bell, Pennsylvania (BUSINESS WIRE) — Mitochon Pharmaceuticals today announced that they, in partnership with the University of Kentucky (UK) and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), were awarded a $3.2M National Institutes of Health grant to study Mitochon’s mitochondrial targeted drug therapies for treating Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). This important award, along with the Company’s open IND, will help pave the way for new potential therapies for treating the devastating effects of brain trauma.

“We are delighted to receive this grant. Traumatic Brain Injury affects the daily lives of millions of people with no treatments to curb the devastating effects post-trauma for both civilians and military.” – commented Dr. John Geisler, Ph.D., Mitochon’s Chief Scientific Officer. Mitochon’s compound MP-201, has previously been shown by TBI expert Dr. Patrick Sullivan, Ph.D. at the UK to significantly reduce brain volume loss and restore cognition after two weeks of treatment post injury. The $3.2M award was made to Dr. Patrick Sullivan at UK and Dr. Todd Kilbaugh, M.D. at the CHOP to conduct more advanced studies with MP-201 in models of TBI.

MP-101 and MP-201 are mitochondrial targeted, once-a-day oral therapies that have been shown to shield cells from damage caused by a host of degenerative processes (genetic, non-genetic, auto-immune and injury). In preclinical studies, these compounds have exhibited protective and functional benefits in disease models. These include brain volume sparing in Huntington’s Disease, preserving dopamine neurons in Parkinson’s Disease, and sustaining motor skills in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

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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.
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