Novo Nordisk to acquire Cardior Pharmaceuticals
Novo Nordisk is set to acquire German miRNA blocker specialist Cardior Pharmaceuticals GmbH for up to €1.025bn including milestone payments.
The take-over agreement includes Cardiors lead compound CDR132L, currently in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of heart failure. Cardior uses a non-coding RNA inhibitor (ncRNA inhibitor)to target microRNA-132, a central regulator of pathological cardiac remodelling processes, which is overexpressed in patients with heart failure. The inhibition of miR-132 by CDR132L leads to normalisation.
Most recently,Cardior got the CE mark for a PCR kit which measures circulating microRNA-132 (miR-132) levels in the blood of patients receiving the companys drug candidate CDR132L.
According to Phase Ib data published in the European Heart Journal, CDR132L seems to be safe and well tolerated. Futhermore, results suggested cardiac functional improvements in patients. Since July, Cardior is enrolling 280 people with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) following heart infarction in a Phase II trial. 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 hearts ability to pump blood.
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
