25 August 2021, Munich – Cardior Pharmaceuticals has closed a Series B financing round totalling EUR 64 million (USD 76 million). The round was led by Inkef Capital, supported by fellow new investors Fund+, Sunstone, Hadean Ventures and Coparion with participation from existing investors including LSP, BioMed Partners, Bristol Myers Squibb, and High-Tech Gründerfonds.
Cardior pursues a unique approach for the treatment of cardiac disease. Its lead candidate CDR132L, an antisense oligonucleotide, inhibits a specific non-coding RNA (micro-RNA-132) in the heart tissue that contributes to key hallmarks of heart disease including cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, impaired contractility and reduced vascularization. In contrast to most available treatments, which predominantly only relieve symptoms, this therapeutic strategy also directly targets the cause of heart failure and holds the potential to provide a disease modifying therapy to patients. Results from a successful phase Ib study suggest that CDR132L is well tolerated and demonstrated early signs off efficacy. Cardior will use the Series B funding to advance the candidate’s late-stage clinical development and further expand its pipeline to address large cardiac indications as well as rare diseases such as hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies.
The approach builds on the groundbreaking, award-winning work of Prof. Thomas Thum and his team at the Hannover Medical School (MHH) from which the company was originally spun-out in 2016. Ascenion, the MHH’s technology transfer partner, has closely collaborated with him over many years supporting the translation of the idea into an established company working towards commercialization.
‘Patients and physicians have been waiting for a major breakthrough in the field of cardiovascular diseases for over 10 years. Cardior opens up a promising opportunity to deliver this breakthrough‘, says Christian Stein, CEO of Ascenion. ‘The team combines excellent science with dedicated expertise and remarkable management skills. I’m impressed by their drive and professional approach to project management and milestone planning. To date, they have reliably delivered.‘
‘This financing enables us to further accelerate the development of our programs and work towards making our therapies rapidly available to patients globally’, adds Prof. Thomas Thum. ‘I am very grateful to Ascenion for their committed support, especially during the early days of establishing the company.’
Cardior is the second company in Ascenion’s portfolio to close an exceptionally large financing round within a few weeks. Ascenion holds equity in Cardior. Proceeds from the sale of shares will largely be distributed to the LifeScience Foundation, which in turn makes them available as research grants to endowing institutes, including the MHH.
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About Cardior
Cardior Pharmaceuticals is a leading clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery and development of RNA-based therapeutics designed to prevent, repair and reverse diseases of the heart. Cardior’s therapeutic approach uses distinctive non-coding RNAs as an innovative platform for addressing the root causes of cardiac dysfunctions. The company aspires to bring transformative therapeutics and diagnostics to patients and thereby make a lasting impact on the treatment of cardiac diseases worldwide.
Further information: www.cardior.de
About Ascenion
Ascenion is an independent technology transfer company focussing on the life sciences. It is partner to 30 research organizations, universities and university hospitals in Germany and Europe, including life-science institutes of the Helmholtz and Leibniz Associations, the Charité, the Hannover Medical School, the Medical University of Innsbruck and the University Medical Center Göttingen. Ascenion’s multidisciplinary, industry-experienced team works closely with its partners to tap the potential of their research by identifying promising results, obtaining patent protection, and turning pure science into applied technology. Particular strengths are spin-off support and project development, where early-stage projects are transformed into assets that attract potential investors and licensees. This has led to the founding of numerous new companies and the transfer of innovative medical approaches into approved drugs, changing the lives of thousands of patients. Profits from Ascenion’s operative business and exit proceeds flow via its parent company, the LifeScience Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Research, to fund further translational research at its partner institutes.
Ascenion has also initiated the pan European showcasing event BioVaria to stimulate deal making and early collaboration between Europe’s academia and the global life-sciences industry.
Further information: www.ascenion.de
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Contacts
Dr Claudia Ulbrich / Barbara Gaertner-Rupprecht
Cardior Pharmaceuticals GmbH
+49 511 33 85 99 30
Stanislava Zollner, Corporate Communication
Ascenion GmbH
zollner@ascenion.de | +49 89 3188140
Media Inquiries
Dr Stephanie May / Charlotte Spitz
Trophic Communications
cardior@trophic.eu | +49 171 35 12 733