Mitochon Pharmaceuticals today announced completion of its second year of funding with a total investment of $1.6 million. The proceeds from the financing will be used to advance Mitochon’s lead compound MP101, a first in class mitochondrial targeted neuro-protective agent, into human studies, as well as, further develop MP201 for IND filing.

MP101 is a mitochondrial targeted, once a day, oral therapy shown to shield cells from damage caused by a host of degenerative processes (genetic, auto-immune and injury). In pre-clinical studies, MP101 has exhibited protective and functional benefits in disease models. These include: brain volume sparing in Huntington’s disease; axonal protection from demyelination in Multiple Sclerosis; and motor improvement in Rett Syndrome and Parkinson’s disease.

To understand the critical step of translation, Mitochon will initiate Phase I studies in normal healthy volunteers in 2016 and is expected to be in Huntington’s patients in 2017.