Lucy Therapeutics is a private female-founded biotech company based in Waltham, MA, focused on developing proprietary mitochondrial-based small molecule therapies and diagnostic biomarkers for the treatment of patients with complex diseases.
What switches our cells from order to disorder or from function to dysfunction? We are relentlessly curious about the role mitochondria have as key drivers of complex diseases, starting with disorders of the central nervous system. We are unraveling the intricate, interrelated processes that drive mitochondrial dysfunction because our mission is to slow, if not stop, disease and restore health.
In 2017, Amy Ripka, Ph.D., founded Lucy Therapeutics to solve the origin of the most complex illnesses facing humanity today: those in which dysfunctional mitochondria are key drivers. We want to change the course of mitochondrial-involved diseases so their diagnosis marks the beginning of their cure.
Lucy Therapeutics is named in honor of Lucy, the 3.2 million year old fossil known as one of the mothers of humankind. Because most humans inherit their mitochondria from their mothers, honoring an “original mitochondrial mom” made sense for our company’s focus on finding the origin of diseases stemming from mitochondrial dysfunction
As a dynamic, early-stage company, our team turns traditional drug discovery process on its head. We pursue solutions from all angles, even those outside our formal expertise. Rather than looking at only genetics or single mitochondrial function, we explore diverse diseases for the underlying biology they share. We particularly examine the ‘nodes’ or intersections of pathways involving the mitochondria because these nexus points could be the origin of illness.
The initial focus of our relentless curiosity and specialized talents are diseases of the central nervous system, which are particularly susceptible to mitochondrial dysfunction. Our lead program is for Parkinson's disease, and our discovery efforts include an additional advanced program for Rett syndrome, as well as early discovery efforts for undisclosed targets.
.png)
.png)