Novo Nordisk buys Cardior for $1.1bn

June 2024 | DEALFRONT | MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Financier Worldwide Magazine

June 2024 Issue

In a move that strengthens its pipeline in cardiovascular disease, Danish multinational pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is to acquire German biotechnology firm Cardior Pharmaceuticals in a transaction valued at $1.1bn.

Under the terms of the agreement, Novo Nordisk will make an upfront payment and additional payments if certain development and commercial milestones are achieved. The company will fund the acquisition from financial reserves.

The acquisition of Cardior follows Novo Nordisk’s $3.3bn purchase of biotech company Dicerna pharmaceuticals, which specialises in therapeutics that counteract disease-causing genes, in 2021.

The transaction is an important step forward in Novo Nordisk’s strategy to establish a presence in cardiovascular disease. The company aims to build a focused, impactful portfolio of therapies through internal and external innovation to address the significant unmet needs that still exist within cardiovascular disease – the most common cause of death globally.

The agreement includes Cardior’s lead compound CDR132L – currently in phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of heart failure – designed to halt and partially reverse cellular pathology by selectively blocking abnormal levels of the microribonucleic acid molecule miR-132, potentially leading to long-lasting improvement in heart function.

Novo Nordisk plans to initiate a second phase 2 trial that will investigate CDR132L in a chronic heart failure population with cardiac hypertrophy – a condition that causes the walls of the heart muscle to become thick and stiff, affecting the heart’s ability to pump blood.

Founded in 1923, Novo Nordisk’s mission is to drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases, built upon its heritage in diabetes. The company does so by pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding access to medicines, and working to prevent and ultimately cure disease. The company employs about 63,400 people in 80 countries and markets its products in around 170 countries.

“With Cardior as a part of Novo Nordisk, we will strengthen our pipeline of projects in cardiovascular disease where we already have ongoing programmes across all phases of clinical development,” said Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president for development at Novo Nordisk. “We have been impressed by the scientific work carried out by the Cardior team, especially on CDR132L, which has a distinctive mode of action and potential to become a first-in-class therapy designed to halt or partially reverse the course of disease for people living with heart failure.”

A leader in the discovery and development of therapies that target RNA as a means to prevent, repair and reverse diseases of the heart, Cardior’s therapeutic approach targets distinctive non-coding RNAs as a platform for addressing root causes of cardiac dysfunctions with an aim to achieve lasting patient impact.

“This acquisition is a reflection of CDR132L’s transformative potential as a disease-modifying therapy for heart failure,” said Claudia Ulbrich, chief executive and co-founder of Cardior. “Novo Nordisk is the ideal partner based on its deep clinical and commercial expertise combined with its resources to accelerate our late-stage development programme, including through larger registrational studies. We look forward to advancing CDR132L towards market approval.”

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024, subject to receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.

Fraser Tennant