Mission Therapeutics refocuses on CNS and sells $292M kidney drug to Dimerix
UK biotech Mission Therapeutics has sold its Phase 2-ready acute kidney injury drug MTX652 to Australia’s Dimerix in a deal worth up to $292 million (€254.7 million), freeing Mission to concentrate resources on its central nervous system (CNS) pipeline.
Why it matters: The divestment gives Cambridge-based Mission non-dilutive funding for MTX325, its remaining clinical-stage USP30 inhibitor, while handing the kidney programme to a company already running a global Phase 3 renal trial.
By the numbers: Dimerix will pay Mission $5 million (€4.4 million) upfront, followed by up to $47 million tied to clinical development milestones, $40 million upon marketing approval, $25 million for approval in a second indication and up to $175 million in sales milestones.
- Mission is also eligible for royalties of 8% to 10% on global net sales made by Dimerix, or 2.5% to 5% if the asset is sublicensed.
Zoom in: Dimerix has renamed MTX652 as DMX-652. The acquisition covers all indications and includes the drug’s patent family, manufacturing methods, sufficient clinical-grade supply for a Phase 2 study and an open US investigational new drug application.
- The FDA has already cleared a proposed placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial in about 160 patients at high risk of acute kidney injury following cardiac surgery. Dimerix expects to begin site initiation in the second half of 2026, dose the first patient in the first half of 2027 and potentially report interim data during 2027.
How it works: DMX-652 inhibits USP30, an enzyme that restricts mitophagy, the process cells use to remove damaged mitochondria. Mission hopes restoring this mitochondrial quality-control mechanism can protect kidney cells following reduced blood flow, toxins or sepsis.
- A completed Phase 1 trial in 85 healthy volunteers found the oral drug was generally well tolerated at single doses of up to 200 mg and repeated doses of up to 100 mg for 14 days. The programme has not yet shown efficacy in patients.
Backstory: Mission was founded around research from University of Cambridge professor Steve Jackson and initially pursued drugs targeting deubiquitylating enzymes across several diseases. The company previously attracted investment from Pfizer, Roche and other life sciences investors and secured a research partnership with AbbVie.
- In early 2025, Mission said it was closing its preclinical laboratory in Cambridge to focus its resources on MTX325 and MTX652. The latest deal takes that consolidation one step further.
The bigger picture: The transaction leaves Mission focused on MTX325, a brain-penetrant USP30 inhibitor being developed as a potential disease-modifying Parkinson’s treatment. Mission raised $13.3 million from existing investors in 2025 after a Phase 1a study showed the drug could reach brain tissue.
What’s next: Biomarker and imaging data from Parkinson’s patients are expected in late 2027.
