The Medical Research Council has invested £50 million into a new centre aimed at improving treatments for mitochondrial diseases, a group of genetic disorders that affect around one in 5,000 people. The initiative brings together leading experts to understand how mutations in mitochondrial DNA cause disease and to translate that knowledge into therapies.
A major push into mitochondrial genome therapeutics
Announced on 5 August 2026, the MRC Centre of Research Excellence in Mitochondrial Genome Therapeutics is designed to advance research into conditions that currently have no cure. According to the MRC, the work will focus on defining how mitochondrial DNA mutations drive disease and on building the scientific base needed for new treatment strategies. UKRI announcement
The MRC said mitochondrial disease creates significant unmet medical needs for patients and families, and that mitochondrial dysfunction can contribute to severe disability, progressive decline and premature death. The council also noted that mutations in mitochondrial DNA are increasingly linked to neurodegeneration, metabolic disease, cardiovascular failure and age-related deterioration.
UK scientists aim to turn discovery into therapy
Project lead Professor Michal Minczuk of the University of Cambridge said the centre would provide pioneering approaches to understanding and treating diseases caused by mutations in the mitochondrial genome. He said the goal is to build a long-term UK research platform with the scale, expertise and infrastructure needed to position the country as a global leader in mitochondrial genome therapeutics.
The centre will be led by the University of Cambridge and will partner with the University of Birmingham, The University of Manchester, Heidelberg University, the University of Queensland and the Imagine Institute in Paris. It will also work with charities including the Lily Foundation and with industry partners worldwide.
Building on earlier UK leadership
Dr Ceri Williams, Executive Director of Challenge Led Themes at MRC, said the UK has been at the helm of mitochondrial science and has already led the development of mitochondrial replacement therapy, which prevents the inheritance of mtDNA mutations. She said the new centre builds on those foundations and could improve prevention, detection and treatment for affected families.
Lily Foundation chief executive and founder Liz Curtis welcomed the initiative, saying the project brings together world-leading expertise and embeds patient perspectives from the outset. She said the charity’s role will be to help ensure families’ priorities shape the research while supporting the next generation of scientists.
The announcement reflects a wider effort by UK funders to accelerate translational biomedical research, with the MRC backing projects that move from basic discovery toward therapies for serious disease. For patients living with mitochondrial disorders, the new centre represents a significant long-term investment in a field where treatment options remain limited. MRC news archive
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