Countdown for a Cure provides grant to advance development of blood-based biomarkers for mitochondrial health.
Israeli biotech Minovia Therapeutics has secured a $350,000 grant from Countdown for a Cure to advance its work developing blood-based biomarkers for mitochondrial health. The funding will support the company’s ongoing trial at Sheba Medical Center, which is gathering blood samples from both patients with primary mitochondrial diseases and healthy volunteers. Minovia will analyze samples using its biomarker platform to establish a “MitoScore” for each.
The company is best known for its mitochondrial augmentation technology, which aims to deliver healthy mitochondria into damaged cells. Alongside these treatments, Minovia is now working to establish functional biomarkers that can quantify mitochondrial content, quality, and performance. These tools could be used not only to select and monitor patients in clinical programs but eventually to assess mitochondrial health more broadly, including in routine medical exams.
“These biomarkers will enable identification of patients who may benefit from our mitochondrial augmentation technology, or MAT, proprietary platform, as well as patient follow-up after MAT treatment,” said Minovia Chief Scientific Officer Dr Noa Sher. “Given how critical mitochondria are to human health, we envision a world in which assessment of mitochondrial biomarkers is available in routine checkups for individuals of all age groups. We look forward to optimizing this technology.”
Mitochondrial dysfunction is widely implicated in both rare genetic disorders and more common age-related and chronic diseases. Because mitochondria produce cellular energy and regulate oxidative stress, their decline disrupts multiple systems including the brain, muscles, metabolism, and immune function. The absence of approved therapies or validated diagnostic tools has left patients without clear treatment paths, despite evidence linking mitochondrial decline to conditions ranging from neurodegeneration to metabolic disorders and chronic fatigue.
Countdown for a Cure, which awarded the biomarker grant, was founded in 2024 by Mitzi and Jeff Solomon following personal experience with mitochondrial dysfunction in their family. The foundation focuses on accelerating mitochondrial medicine, supporting both research and patient advocacy, and funding approaches that target mitochondrial health as a central driver of disease and aging. Its mission extends beyond rare genetic conditions to the broader field of healthspan and longevity, aiming to make mitochondrial assessment and intervention a standard part of medicine.
“We shouldn’t just be fixing disease; we should be funding the future of health and healing,” said Mitzi Solomon. “Supporting Minovia’s biomarker work is a crucial step in advancing mitochondrial medicine to the forefront of healthcare, not only for patients living with rare mitochondrial diseases, but also for the millions worldwide facing conditions linked to mitochondrial dysfunction.”
Headquartered in Haifa, Israel, Minovia recently entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Launch One Acquisition Corp., a Nasdaq-listed SPAC. The deal is expected to close in late 2025, after which Minovia will trade publicly under a new ticker symbol.
Minovia’s lead therapeutic program, MNV-201, is under investigation for Pearson Syndrome and myelodysplastic syndrome, disorders rooted in mitochondrial failure. Early clinical data suggest that its mitochondrial augmentation approach may improve or stabilize patient outcomes such as weight gain, kidney function, mobility, and blood parameters, with no drug-related toxicities reported to date. Beyond rare diseases, the company is preparing to expand into longevity and regenerative medicine, with plans to offer mitochondrial augmentation therapies through clinic partnerships starting in 2026. Preclinical work has indicated potential benefits such as reversing biological aging markers and improving cognition in aged models.