Longevity & Aging

Mitophagy Drug TJ0113 Passes Long-Term Animal Safety Tests Ahead of Parkinson's Trial

TJ0113 is an experimental small molecule that triggers mitophagy, the cell's process for clearing damaged mitochondria. It is now in a Phase II trial for Parkinson's disease. Researchers tested its safety in Sprague-Dawley rats (up to 26 weeks) and Beagle dogs (up to 39 weeks) under Good Laboratory Practice standards. They saw no treatment-related deaths and no target-organ toxicity. Heart tracings (ECG), blood chemistry and genotoxicity tests were normal or negative. Rats showed a small rise in relative kidney weight, but with no blood or tissue changes, so it was judged non-adverse. Drug exposure rose in proportion to dose and did not build up over time. The no-observed-adverse-effect levels were 100 mg/kg/day in rats and 60 mg/kg/day in dogs. These findings support continued human testing, though they cannot predict efficacy or human tolerability.