Adjuvia raises $8M seed to take mitochondrial disease drug into the clinic
What's the deal? Adjuvia Therapeutics, a San Francisco biotech developing treatments for mitochondrial dysfunction, has closed an $8 million seed round. JLO VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → led, with participation from Portfolia Ventures and biopharmaceutical industry leaders.
What's the endgame? Founded in 2023, Adjuvia is developing oral therapeutics to repair mitochondrial damage by targeting oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and organ degeneration simultaneously. Its lead candidate, ATI-105, is a proprietary lipid nanoparticle formulation of a novel astaxanthin molecule.
Why now? The money funds an Investigational New Drug application for ATI-105 later this summer, followed by a Phase 1 trial in healthy volunteers in fall 2026. A Phase 1/2 study in patients with Friedreich's ataxia is planned for early 2027.
In preclinical models, ATI-105 showed reductions in reactive oxygen species and chronic inflammation, plus evidence of cellular repair and extended lifespan, according to the company.
What's the ambition? Adjuvia starts with rare mitochondrial diseases but sees wider potential. "We see broader potential in conditions where mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to disease progression, including age-related chronic diseases and fertility disorders," said chief executive officer and co-founder Laura Hix GlickmanDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
She added that treatment options for mitochondrial dysfunction "remain limited," and that the round lets Adjuvia "begin clinically evaluating" the candidate's safety and therapeutic potential.
The signal: At $8 million, this ranks among the larger nanotech seed rounds in the US, sitting in the 96th percentile of comparable deals. That points to investor appetite for early-stage platforms tackling the underlying biology of hard-to-treat rare diseases.
Read more: Associated Press
Image credit: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
