SciSparc Ltd., a specialty, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focusing on the development of therapies to treat disorders of the central nervous system, today announced the intended formation of a joint venture (“JV”) to focus on the discovery and development of potential drugs for cancers and other life-threatening conditions. Under the terms of the JV, to promote this intention, SciSparc will establish a new drug discovery company, MitoCareX Bio Ltd., an Israeli corporation (“MitoCareX Bio”).
The JV will focus on investigating mitochondrial carriers, transport proteins crucial for cell viability. Because of mitochondrial carriers’ significant role in transporting necessary metabolites for cell functioning across the inner mitochondrial membranes, the Company believes various life-threatening conditions, such as cancers and rare mitochondrial diseases, might be treated by regulating the function of mitochondrial carriers. In humans, the mitochondrial carrier family (Solute Carrier Family 25, SLC25) consists of 53 members and is the largest solute transporter family.
“This is an exciting opportunity to potentially further expand our pipeline into multiple new indications targeting large unmet medical needs,” stated Oz Adler, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of SciSparc. “MitoCareX Bio intends to employ computationally-based drug discovery capabilities, leveraging vast research experience and specific knowledge in the field, to discover and potentially develop a pipeline that may include small molecules targeting the proteins of interest in various life-threatening conditions.”
To form the JV, SciSparc will establish a new drug discovery company, MitoCareX Bio Ltd. (“MitoCareX Bio”). Based on pre-determined milestones, SciSparc will invest up to $1.7 million, for up to 50.01 percent ownership, in MitoCareX Bio over the next two years and according to a number of milestones agreed upon in the agreement. MitoCareX Bio’s innovative research will partly build upon successful proof-of-concept experiments performed in the UK. Professor Ciro Leonardo Pierri (University of Bari, Italy), a global expert in the field of mitochondrial carrier proteins, has indicated to the Company that he intends to support the program as a consultant to the Company.
