AbbVie picks up option to acquire Mitokinin and its PD candidate

3 March 2021

US drug major AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) has purchased an exclusive right to acquire San Francisco-based biotech firm Mitokinin following completion of investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies on Mitokinin's lead PINK1 compound with potential in Parkinson’s disease.

Based on technology discovered at the University of California-san Francisco (UCSF) by Mitokinin co-founders Nicholas Hertz and Kevan Shokat, Mitokinin moved into MBC BioLabs San Francisco in September 2017 with Series A funding from a syndicate led by Mission BioCapital that included Pfizer (NYSE: PFE).

Mitokinin's novel PINK1 compounds selectively increase the activity of PINK1, a master regulator of mitochondrial quality control that is genetically linked to Parkinson's disease. By increasing PINK1 activity, Mitokinin aims to address the mitochondrial dysfunction contributing to Parkinson's disease pathogenesis and progression.

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