Cardurion Pharmaceuticals Licenses Clinical Stage Heart Failure Candidate from Astellas
16 April 2018 - 11:00PM
Business Wire
Company expanding pipeline of novel treatments
for cardiovascular disease
Cardurion Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company focused on
the development of novel, next-generation therapeutics for the
treatment of cardiovascular diseases, today announced it has
entered an exclusive licensing agreement with Astellas to develop
and commercialize CRD-733, a PDE-9 inhibitor with the potential to
improve cardiac function in heart failure patients.
Under the terms of the agreement, Astellas has granted Cardurion
Pharmaceuticals an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing license to
research, develop, manufacture and commercialize CRD-733 for the
diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular-related
indications in humans.
Heart failure is a chronic, progressive syndrome in which the
heart is unable to adequately meet the body’s needs for blood and
oxygen, resulting in shortness of breath, fatigue, and fluid
retention. Heart failure can occur with either a weak heart muscle
that cannot adequately eject blood, or a muscle that is strong
enough, but other factors limiting its ability to fill or increase
function, as needed, are impaired. Over 6 million people in the
United States have one of these two forms of heart failure1, and
this unmet medical need poses the greatest challenge in
cardiovascular medicine today. Recent evidence supports that
inhibition of PDE-9 has potential to restore heart-protective
mechanisms that are dysfunctional in both forms of heart
failure.
“Heart failure is an expanding global problem that remains one
of the major unmet medical needs in cardiovascular disease,” said
David Kass, M.D., scientific advisor at Cardurion Pharmaceuticals
and professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine, who first discovered the key role of PDE-9 inhibition in
heart failure. “PDE-9 is abnormally elevated in human failing
hearts, which can impede a natural protective pathway and make the
heart more vulnerable to damage. In our studies, inhibiting PDE-9
was able to prevent and reverse heart malfunction brought on by
abnormal stress. Inhibiting PDE-9 in patients has the real
potential to treat multiple forms of heart failure2.”
“Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide
in both men and women, accounting for over 17 million deaths per
year3,” said Daniel Bloomfield, chief executive officer of
Cardurion Pharmaceuticals. “We are pleased to enter this agreement
with Astellas to develop and commercialize CRD-733 and provide a
new therapeutic option to heart failure patients. We look forward
to advancing CRD-733 into further clinical development in
2018.”
About Cardurion PharmaceuticalsCardurion is a
biotechnology company with both clinical and preclinical programs
focused on the development of novel, next-generation therapeutics
for the treatment of heart failure and other cardiovascular
diseases. Led by two physician-scientists with extensive experience
in cardiovascular science, medicine and drug development,
Cardurion’s unique programs and strongly collaborative environment
enable the company to deliver promising treatments that target
major unmet needs. Cardurion has facilities in Cambridge,
Massachusetts and Shonan, Japan. For more information, please visit
the company’s website at http://www.cardurion.com.
About AstellasAstellas Pharma Inc., based in Tokyo,
Japan, is a company dedicated to improving the health of people
around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable
pharmaceutical products. Astellas focuses on Urology, Oncology,
Immunology, Nephrology and Neuroscience as prioritized therapeutic
areas while advancing new therapeutic areas and discovery research
leveraging new technologies/modalities. Astellas is also creating
new value by combining internal capabilities and external expertise
in the medical/healthcare business. Astellas is on the forefront of
healthcare change to turn innovative science into value for
patients. For more information, please visit our website at
www.astellas.com/en.
Cardurion’s Forward Looking StatementsThis press release
contains forward-looking statements, all of which are qualified in
their entirety by this cautionary statement. Any statements
contained herein that do not describe historical facts, including,
but not limited to, statements that express or imply future
outcomes of our partnership with Takeda, are forward-looking
statements that are based on management’s expectations and are
subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause
actual results, outcomes, timing and performance to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.
These factors, risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited
to: the costs and uncertainties associated with our research
efforts and other discovery activities; the inherent uncertainties
associated with the conduct, timing and results of preclinical and
clinical studies of our product candidates; and the adequacy of our
capital resources and availability of additional funding. Except as
otherwise noted, these forward-looking statements speak only as of
the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to
update or revise any of such statements to reflect events or
circumstances occurring after this press release. We caution
readers not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking
statements contained in this press release.
The safety and efficacy of the agent discussed herein are under
investigation and have not been established. There is no guarantee
that the agent will receive regulatory approval and become
commercially available for the uses being investigated. Information
about pharmaceutical products (including products currently in
development) which is included in this press release is not
intended to constitute an advertisement or medical advice.
1 American Heart Association, Causes and Risks for Heart Failure
(February 2018)2 Lee, D. et al. Phosphodiesterase 9A controls
nitric-oxideindependent cGMP and hypertrophic heart disease.
Nature. 519, 472-476 (2015)3 World Health Organization,
Cardiovascular diseases (May 2017)
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W2OpureStephanie Hutton, 910-726-1367shutton@w2ogroup.com