Rivus debuts to find safer way to tap mitochondria for metabolic, CV disorders

With an asset already in the clinic for metabolic disorders, two-year-old Rivus is putting $35 million from a syndicate led by Longitude and Medicxi toward development of small molecules that act in the mitochondrial intermembrane space to reduce the accumulation of fat and thereby treat metabolic and cardiovascular disorders.

Rivus Pharmaceuticals Inc. emerged from stealth Tuesday with a once-daily, oral therapeutic for disorders including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), Type II diabetes, severe hypertriglyceridemia and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)...