Novo Nordisk to acquire Cardior Pharmaceuticals and strengthen
pipeline in cardiovascular disease
Bagsværd, Denmark, and
Hannover, Germany, 25 March,
2024 – Novo Nordisk and Cardior Pharmaceuticals today
announced that Novo Nordisk has agreed to acquire Cardior for up to
1.025 billion Euros, including an upfront payment and additional
payments if certain development and commercial milestones are
achieved.
Cardior is a leader in the discovery and development of
therapies that target RNA as a means to prevent, repair and reverse
diseases of the heart. The company’s therapeutic approach targets
distinctive non-coding RNAs as a platform for addressing root
causes of cardiac dysfunctions with an aim to achieve lasting
patient impact.
The agreement includes Cardior’s lead compound CDR132L,
currently in phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of
heart failure.
The acquisition is an important step forward in Novo Nordisk’s
strategy to establish a presence in cardiovascular disease. Novo
Nordisk aims to build a focused, impactful portfolio of therapies
through internal and external innovation to address the significant
unmet needs that still exist within cardiovascular disease, the
most common cause of death globally.
“By welcoming Cardior as a part of Novo Nordisk, we will
strengthen our pipeline of projects in cardiovascular disease where
we already have ongoing programmes across all phases of clinical
development,” said Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president for
Development at Novo Nordisk. “We have been impressed by the
scientific work carried out by the Cardior team, especially on
CDR132L, which has a distinctive mode of action and potential to
become a first-in-class therapy designed to halt or partially
reverse the course of disease for people living with heart
failure.”
CDR132L is designed to halt and partially reverse cellular
pathology by selectively blocking abnormal levels of the microRNA
molecule miR-132, potentially leading to long-lasting improvement
in heart function.
In a phase 1b trial published in the European Heart Journal1,
CDR132L was reported to be safe and well tolerated and the results
suggested cardiac functional improvements in people with heart
failure compared to placebo. CDR132L is currently being
investigated in the phase 2 trial HF-REVERT in 280 people with
heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) who have
previously suffered a heart attack (myocardial infarction). The
first patient was dosed in the HF-REVERT trial in July 2022.
Novo Nordisk plans to initiate a second phase 2 trial that will
investigate CDR132L in a chronic heart failure population with
cardiac hypertrophy – a condition that causes the walls of the
heart muscle to become thick and stiff, affecting the heart’s
ability to pump blood.
“This acquisition is a reflection of CDR132L’s transformative
potential as a disease-modifying therapy for heart failure,” said
Claudia Ulbrich, MD, CEO and co-founder of Cardior. “Novo Nordisk
is the ideal partner based on its deep clinical and commercial
expertise combined with its resources to accelerate our late-stage
development programme, including through larger registrational
studies. We look forward to advancing CDR132L towards market
approval.”
The closing of the acquisition is subject to receipt of
applicable regulatory approvals and other customary conditions and
is expected to happen in the second quarter of 2024.
The transaction will not impact Novo Nordisk’s previously
communicated operating profit outlook for 2024 or the ongoing share
buy-back programme. Novo Nordisk will fund the acquisition from
financial reserves.
About heart failure Heart failure is a chronic,
progressive condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump
enough blood to meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen. The
condition leads to frequent hospitalisations, and more than half of
people diagnosed with heart failure die within five years2. Heart
failure affects more than 65 million people globally and is most
commonly caused by heart conditions such as ischaemic heart
disease, cardiomyopathy or high blood pressure3. The condition
cannot be cured. Current therapies can slow but not halt disease
progression4, and morbidity and mortality remain high5.
About Cardior’s approachCardior works to
identify and counteract the molecular mechanisms of the broad area
of ischaemic-induced heart failure as well as specific cardiac
diseases such as hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies. Cardior
primarily seeks to advance a novel class of antisense
oligonucleotides (ASOs) targeting so-called non-coding RNAs
(ncRNAs) that are able to act on several key disease pathways
simultaneously, triggering a concerted therapeutic effect against
key hallmarks of heart disease, including cardiac hypertrophy,
fibrosis, impaired contractility and reduced vascularization.
Although ncRNAs are not translated into proteins, they are
important for the regulation of critical cellular processes and
their dysregulation is a hallmark of many diseases. With its deep
knowledge in RNA biology, Cardior is developing a
clinically-oriented approach to restore normal levels and functions
of these key players in the pathological processes of cardiac
diseases.
About Novo NordiskNovo Nordisk is a leading
global healthcare company, founded in 1923 and headquartered in
Denmark. Our purpose is to drive change to defeat serious chronic
diseases, built upon our heritage in diabetes. We do so by
pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding access to our
medicines, and working to prevent and ultimately cure disease. Novo
Nordisk employs about 63,400 people in 80 countries and markets its
products in around 170 countries. For more information, visit
novonordisk.com, Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and YouTube.
About CardiorCardior 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.
Contacts for further information
Media: |
|
Ambre
James-Brown+45 3079 9289abmo@novonordisk.com |
Liz
Skrbkova (US) +1 609 917 0632 lzsk@novonordisk.com |
Investors: |
|
Daniel
Muusmann Bohsen+45 3075 2175 dabo@novonordisk.com |
Jacob
Martin Wiborg Rode+45 3075 5956jrde@novonordisk.com |
David
Heiberg Landsted +45 3077 6915 dhel@novonordisk.com |
Mark
Joseph Root (US) +1 848 213 3219mjhr@novonordisk.com |
Sina
Meyer +45 3079 6656azey@novonordisk.com |
Frederik
Taylor Pitter +45 3075 8259fptr@novonordisk.com |
Cardior
media |
|
Trophic
CommunicationsStephanie May+49 171 1855682may@trophic.eu |
|
1 Täubel J et al. European Heart Journal 2021 Jan
7;42(2):178-188 Novel antisense therapy targeting microRNA-132 in
patients with heart failure: results of a first-in-human Phase 1b
randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study - PubMed
(nih.gov)
2 Jones NR et al. European Journal of Heart Failure 2019 Nov;
21(11): 1306–1325 Survival of patients with chronic heart failure
in the community: a systematic review and meta‐analysis - PMC
(nih.gov)
3 Bragazzi NL et al. Preventive Cardiology 2021;28(15):1682-1690
Burden of heart failure and underlying causes in 195 countries and
territories from 1990 to 2017 – PubMed (nih.gov)
4 McDonagh TA et al. European Heart Journal 2021 Sep
21;42(36):3599-3726 2021 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and
treatment of acute and chronic heart failure - PubMed (nih.gov)
5 Savarese G, Lund LH. Cardiac Failure Review. 2017;03(01):7-11
Global Public Health Burden of Heart Failure - PubMed (nih.gov)
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