San Francisco-based Adjuvia Therapeutics has closed an USD 8 million Series Seed financing to advance its lead mitochondrial disease therapy candidate, ATI-105, into clinical development, with an investigational new drug (IND) application planned for submission later this summer and a Phase I trial in healthy volunteers targeted for fall 2026.
JLO Ventures led the round, with Portfolia Ventures and a group of undisclosed biopharmaceutical industry executives also participating. The company said proceeds will support the IND submission for ATI-105 and fund initiation of a Phase I/II study in patients with Friedreich's ataxia (FA), a rare inherited neurodegenerative disease, planned for early 2027. Founded in 2023, Adjuvia previously received incubator-stage backing from MBC BioLabs, a San Francisco life sciences incubator, before closing this seed round.
ATI-105 is a proprietary blood-brain barrier (BBB)-penetrant lipid nanoparticle formulation of a novel astaxanthin molecule, designed to deliver antioxidant activity directly to mitochondria in the central nervous system and peripheral organs. The company said preclinical studies across multiple mitochondrial disease models demonstrated reductions in reactive oxygen species and chronic inflammation, alongside evidence of cellular repair and improved organ function. FA, caused by frataxin deficiency that leads to mitochondrial iron accumulation and severe oxidative stress, represents the lead indication. The only currently approved treatment for FA is omaveloxolone (Skyclarys), marketed by Reata Pharmaceuticals, which received US FDA approval in 2023.