‘Undruggable’ targets aren’t just in oncology. Cardurion Pharmaceuticals is hoping to become the first to successfully develop a treatment for a genetic heart condition that researchers have been studying for decades.
The startup is working on a rare heart disease known as catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia — CPVT for short — that can lead to abnormal heart rhythms and is estimated to impact one in 10,000 people. To do so, it’s using a CaMKII inhibitor and has become the first to put such a drug into human studies.
It’s not an easy target. CaMKII is a protein kinase that is involved in both heart function and human memory — meaning that any drug going after it has to be extra precise. Cardurion CEO Peter Lawrence told
Endpoints News
that big pharma companies they are in contact with “were really intrigued by the fact we were able to get into human clinical testing with the CaMKII inhibitor because other major pharmas and biotechs have tried for a very long time — and it was hard to do.”
Cardurion’s plan to develop the next generation of heart disease treatments involves a mix of internal research and external hunting. Founded by cardiologist and seasoned industry executive Michael Mendelsohn, who previously led cardiovascular research at Merck Research Laboratories, Cardurion launched in 2017 through a partnership deal with Takeda. As part of that partnership, a cardiovascular research team from Takeda’s site in Shonan, Japan turned into Cardurion’s drug discovery unit.
Along with its CaMKII inhibitor, the Massachusetts-based company has clinical trials for heart failure studying two PDE9 inhibitors, one of which was a failed blood disorder treatment that Cardurion is looking to revive. In May, the company touted
biomarker results
from its Phase 2 study of one of those inhibitors.
The company declined to disclose exactly how much money it has raised, beyond saying it’s somewhere north of $500 million. That includes a
$260 million Series B
that Cardurion announced in July and part of a
$300 million commitment
from Bain.
“What we do is translate our expertise in cardiovascular signaling pathways into therapeutics for our patients. That is the scientific thesis that undergirds everything that we do,” Lawrence said. “We are constantly thinking about what could be attractive targets to pursue in various diseases. And we don’t talk a lot about what we’re looking at, because it’s proprietary, but it is no different than oncology.”
Key backers:
Ascenta Capital, Blue Owl Capital, Delos Capital, Digitalis Ventures, Farallon Capital Management, Fidelity Management, GV, Millennium Management, New Enterprise Associates, The Invus Group, Bain Capital Life Sciences and Bain Capital Private Equity, Polaris Partners, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
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