Cardior Appoints Cardiac Disease and RNA Drug Development Experts to its Scientific Advisory Board Supporting Pipeline Expansion in Both Large and Orphan Cardiac Indications

HANOVER, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cardior Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biotech company developing non-coding RNA (ncRNA)-based therapeutics for patients with cardiac diseases, today announced the expansion of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) with four newly appointed cardiology and RNA drug development experts. Johann Bauersachs, MD; Perry Elliott, MD; Gerasimos Filippatos, MD, PhD; and Barry Ticho, MD, PhD, will provide Cardior with important scientific, medical and development guidance as the company advances its lead program CDR132L, an oligonucleotide-based ncRNA inhibitor targeting microRNA-132, towards a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with heart failure. The SAB will also collaborate with Cardior’s leadership team as it further develops the breadth of its pipeline of ncRNA therapeutics with curative potential. Cardior’s innovative product candidates address the underlying causalities of heart diseases including genetic cardiomyopathies. David Crandall, PhD, member since inception of the SAB, will step down.

“As we move toward Phase 2 initiation and the next stage of development post our successful Series B funding, we value the commitment from these highly-regarded scientific and industry leaders who bring us significant expertise in the fields of cardiology and RNA-based medicines. Their combined track record of successfully guiding research efforts that produce effective therapeutics will be vital as we evolve into a late-stage clinical company as well as accelerate the fundamental research and development fueling our pipeline of highly stable and effective RNA-based therapies in large indications and in the field of cardiomyopathies,” said Rahul Agrawal, Chief Medical Officer of Cardior. “We would like to thank David for his support in the short time we established Cardior and its transformative pipeline.”

Cardior’s Scientific Advisory Board welcomes the following experts:

Johann Bauersachs, MD, is Head of the Department of Cardiology and Angiology at Hannover Medical School with research focus on ncRNAs in acute and chronic heart failure. He is a Board member of the German Cardiac Society, and Chair of its Committee on Clinical Cardiovascular Medicine. He is Study Chair of the DIGIT-HF study investigating the effect of Digitoxin in patients with advanced heart failure and is actively involved in many other clinical trials. He received his medical degree from the University of Freiburg, Germany.

Perry Elliott, MD, is a Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University College London (UCL) and a Senior Investigator for the United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). He is the current Director of the UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science and the UCL Centre for Heart Muscle Disease and is a consultant cardiologist at the Centre for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease at the Bart’s Heart Centre in St. Bartholomew’s Hospital London. Dr. Elliott is a board member of various cardio-related organizations including his position as Chairman of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Council on Cardiovascular Genomics and its Heart Academy. He received his MBBS at the St. Thomas’ Hospital Medical School and received his cardiology training from the St. George’s Hospital Medical School in London.

Gerasimos Filippatos, MD, PhD, is a cardiologist at the University of Athens, Greece as well as Member of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). He has served as Chair of the Clinical Section and the Committee on Acute Heart Failure of the HFA and as Chair of the ESC’s Working Group on Acute Cardiac Care. He studied medicine at the University of Patras, Greece, and earned his doctorate in physiology and critical care from the University of Athens.

Barry Ticho, MD, PhD, is currently Chief Medical Officer at Stoke Therapeutics where he is responsible for the company’s efforts to develop first-in-class RNA based medicines that treat severe genetic diseases. As co-founder and former CEO of Verve Therapeutics with years of experience in R&D from Moderna, Pfizer and Biogen, he brings an in-depth knowledge of developing mRNA treatments for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Dr. Ticho obtained his MD and PhD degrees from the University of Chicago. He has served as a member of the clinical staff at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where he conducted laboratory research on the regulation of cardiac development.

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About Cardior
Cardior 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.