Clinical trials

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of bone marrow failures that occur when the blood-forming cells in the bone marrow become abnormal leading to an abnormal differentiation and production of one or more blood cell types. According to the American Cancer Society, in the United States, MDS occurs at a rate of 4.8 cases for every 100,000 people; MDS affects an estimated 60,000 persons in the United States, with 10,000-15,000 new cases recorded each year. MDS is defined by ineffective haematopoiesis resulting in blood cytopenias (a reduction in the number of mature blood cells), and clonal instability with a risk of evolution to acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Patients with MDS collectively have a high symptom burden and are also at risk of death from complications of cytopenias and AML. MDS is generally a disease that develops with ageing; the median age at diagnosis of MDS is \~70 years, and patients frequently have comorbid conditions. The goals of therapy for patients with MDS are to reduce disease-associated symptoms and the risk of disease progression and death, thereby improving both quality and quantity of life. Minovia Therapeutics Ltd. ("Minovia") is a biotech company developing novel therapeutics based on its mitochondrial augmentation technology (MAT). MNV-201 is a cell therapy produced by MAT that consists of the participant's autologous CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) enriched with allogeneic placental-derived mitochondria, manufactured in Minovia's GMP facility.

Mitochondrial diseases are a genetically diverse group of disorders, some of which are caused by mutations or deletions in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and which display a wide range of severity and phenotypes. Despite a prevalence of roughly 1 in 8500 in the population there is no effective treatments for the majority of mitochondrial diseases beyond supportive care (Gorman 2016, Elliott 2008). Many of these, such as Pearson syndrome and Kearns-Sayre syndrome, are early onset disorders, and may lead to mortality within the first decades of life. Importantly, mitochondria are selectively inherited from the mother. In addition, there are numerous diseases in which mitochondrial dysfunction plays an important role. Some examples are Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, both of which are known to have mitochondrial involvement. Minovia therapeutics develops a therapeutic intervention called mitochondrial augmentation technology (MAT). For the development work, Minovia needs patients' cells with different mutations that will allow to study the baseline heteroplasmy and functionality of patient hematopoietic cells, identify potential biomarkers to assess mitochondrial content and function in liquid biopsies, and study the efficacy of MAT in different PMDs.

Primary Mitochondrial diseases are a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of disorders caused by mutations in genes encoded by nuclear Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) or by mutations and/or deletions in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). While some mitochondrial disorders only affect a single organ (e.g., the eye in Leber hereditary optic neuropathy \[LHON\]), many involve multiple organs. Mitochondrial disorders may present at any age and a frequent feature is the increasing number of organs involved in the course of the disease. Minovia Therapeutics Ltd. ("Minovia") is a biotech company developing novel therapeutics based on its mitochondrial augmentation technology (MAT). MNV-201 is a cell therapy produced by MAT that consists of the participant's autologous CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) enriched with allogeneic placental-derived mitochondria, manufactured in Minovia's GMP facility.

Placenta will be collected and from these, mitochondrial will be harvested. Mitochondria will be used in mitochondrial augmentation therapy.