Photo: Novo Nordisk office in California / iStock, Hapabapa

Novo Nordisk on Monday announced the acquisition of German biotechnology company Cardiol Pharmaceuticals in a bid to strengthen its cardiovascular disease portfolio and support the company’s expansion into heart disease.

The companies did not disclose the agreed upon price per share, but said the total value of the deal could be up to about $1.1 billion. This amount includes Novo’s upfront payment for Cardior and additional payments based on certain development and commercial milestones.

Novo and Cardior expect to close the transaction in the second quarter of 2024, subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Martin Horst Lange, executive vice president of development at Novo Nordisk, said in a statement that the acquisition of Cardiol will help the Danish drugmaker “strengthen its pipeline of projects in cardiovascular diseases.” The acquisition also contributes to Novo’s goal of building a “focused and impactful treatment portfolio through internal and external innovation,” according to the announcement.

At the heart of the acquisition is Cardior’s leading candidate CDR132L, an oligonucleotide-based inhibitor that targets and inhibits miRNA132, according to the biotechnology company’s website. This mechanism of action halts and reverses harmful cardiac remodeling and restores normal heart cell function while improving systolic and diastolic function.

In July 2022, Cardior initiated the Phase II HF-REVERT study evaluating CDR132L in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction after myocardial infarction.

Lange said in a statement that Novo is “impressed” with Cardiol’s work on CDR132L. CDR132L has a “unique mechanism of action and has the potential to be a first-in-class treatment,” with the potential to “stop or partially reverse the course of the disease.” Patients with heart failure.

Novo plans to conduct a Phase 2 clinical trial for CDR132L, testing the investigational therapy in patients with chronic heart failure, a condition in which the heart muscle thickens and impairs the heart’s ability to pump blood.

Cardior’s acquisition comes weeks after Novo successfully introduced its best-selling obesity drug Wegovy (semaglutide) into cardiovascular disease. Earlier this month, the FDA approved an expanded indication for GLP-1 receptor agonists to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack, and stroke in adults with underlying cardiovascular disease or who are overweight or obese. Permission granted. .

Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that it would cover the use of Wegovy in cardiovascular disease indications. The agency still does not cover Wegovy’s chronic weight management.

For Cardior, the acquisition of Novo follows a $76 million Series B funding round in August 2021, which the company has since used to support the development of CDR132L and other drug candidates. All of these target cardiovascular diseases. Bristol-Myers Squibb participated in the Series B along with other investors including Biomed Partners and Inkef Capital.

Tristan Manalac is an independent science writer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. Contact him on LinkedIn or email tristan@tristanmanalac.com or tristan.manalac@biospace.com.