• Oversubscribed round enables late-stage clinical development of lead candidate, a micro-RNA-132 inhibitor, in heart failure and further accelerates pipeline expansion

Munich, Germany, August 25, 2021 – LSP, one of Europe’s leading life sciences and health care investors, today announced that its LSP 5 portfolio company Cardior Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biotech company developing non-coding RNA (ncRNA)-based therapeutics for patients with cardiac diseases, completed a €64 million ($76 million) Series B financing round. 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, BioMedPartners, Bristol Myers Squibb and High-Tech Gründerfonds. 

“We believe ncRNAs can fundamentally change the treatment of heart disease by preventing, repairing and reversing damage to cardiac tissue. We thank our new and existing investors for their support and their confidence in our ability to achieve our goal,” said Dr. Claudia Ulbrich, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Cardior. “This substantial funding, provided by leading biotech investors, validates the strength of our RNA approach and our team. We welcome our new directors and look forward to working closely with our board as we continue our rapid progress toward the start of the Phase 2 trial with our lead program CDR132L, which has the potential to demonstrate clinical proof-of-concept as a transformative heart disease treatment and to set the stage for the emergence of a new class of medicines.”  

The Series B proceeds will be used to fund the late-stage clinical development of Cardior’s lead program and the expansion of the company’s earlier-stage pipeline. Lead candidate CDR132L is an oligonucleotide-based ncRNA inhibitor targeting micro-RNA-132. micro-RNAs are endogenous molecules that function as cellular regulators and their dysregulation contributes to the development of many diseases including cardiovascular diseases. Cardior’s lead program is intended to block the abnormal cardiac levels of micro-RNA-132 in heart failure patients thereby triggering a concerted therapeutic effect against key hallmarks of heart disease including cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, impaired contractility and reduced vascularization. Cardior’s approach is applicable to a broad range of heart diseases as represented in its development pipeline, which addresses large cardiac indications as well as rare diseases such as hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies. 

“The Cardior team has succeeded in creating a world-leading biotech developing therapeutics for patients suffering from cardiac diseases and the oversubscribed Series B financing further validates Cardior’s position as a pioneer. I look forward to working with the incoming investors as we leverage the current momentum in the RNA therapy field to position Cardior for success,” said Dr. Karin Kleinhans, Partner at LSP.