Cardurion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Cardurion”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, today announced it has raised a $260 million Series B financing led by Ascenta Capital, with participation by new investors NEA, GV, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Millennium Management, Farallon Capital Management, Invus, Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities, Delos Capital and Digitalis Ventures, as well as existing investors Bain Capital Life Sciences and Bain Capital Private Equity.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to support later-stage clinical trials with the company’s two lead drug candidates, a first-in-class phosphodiesterase-9 (PDE9) inhibitor for heart failure and the first clinical-stage Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent Protein Kinase II (CaMKII) inhibitor with broad therapeutic potential.
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In addition, the funding will be used to expand the cardiovascular indications for Cardurion Pharmaceuticals’s portfolio of drug candidates, to progress internal discovery programs and to acquire additional therapeutic assets targeting unmet needs in the cardiovascular disease area. In conjunction with this financing, Evan Rachlin, MD, Co-Founder and Managing Partner from Ascenta Capital, Dan Lynch, Executive Venture Partner from GV, and Ed Mathers, Partner from NEA, will join the Cardurion Board of Directors.
“We are excited to welcome Ascenta Capital and this high-quality group of new investors who share our vision to be a world-class cardiovascular innovator, pursuing treatments for a broad range of debilitating diseases,” said Peter Lawrence, Chief Executive Officer of Cardurion. “Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the world, and we are pursuing new therapeutic targets to address unmet needs for patients with these diseases. Our experienced team at Cardurion has shown the ability to translate emerging science in cardiovascular signaling pathways into groundbreaking therapeutics with our PDE9 and CaMKII inhibitor programs, and we have now moved both programs into later-stage clinical studies where we can further evaluate efficacy in patients.”
Based on recent clinical validation of Cardurion Pharmaceuticals’s PDE9 program, the company is now evaluating its lead PDE9 inhibitor, CRD‑750, in two Phase 2 clinical trials in 640 patients with both types of heart failure, HFrEF and HFpEF. The company also has an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial for its lead CaMKII inhibitor, CRD-4730, for the treatment of catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), a rare genetic arrhythmic disease. Cardurion Pharmaceuticals also plans to pursue development of CaMKII inhibitors in additional major cardiovascular indications. This new investment will enable the company to scale its team and continue to build industry-leading capabilities in cardiovascular drug innovation.
“We at Ascenta are very impressed with the significant clinical data the Cardurion team has generated for their innovative cardiovascular drug candidates, with strong initial validation for targeting these untapped signaling pathways to address important needs in cardiovascular treatment,” said Dr. Rachlin. “We are excited by innovation in cardiovascular medicine, and we look forward to partnering with Cardurion to help drive its mission to bring these new therapies to patients.”
About Cardurion Pharmaceuticals
Cardurion Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel, next-generation therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Cardurion was founded by physician-scientists with world-class expertise in cardiovascular signaling pathways, and a shared passion to find and develop a pipeline of novel treatment options to improve the lives of patients. Cardurion has two groundbreaking clinical programs in development, a first-in-class phosphodiesterase-9 (PDE9) inhibitor for both types of heart failure and the first-ever clinical-stage Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent Protein Kinase II (CaMKII) inhibitor for rare and common cardiovascular diseases. Cardurion Pharmaceuticals is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, with discovery sciences and research facilities in Shonan, Japan.
