AnaCardio exercises option to license a program in heart failure from Helsinn
Lugano, Switzerland and Stockholm, Sweden, February 3, 2022 - Helsinn Group (“Helsinn”), a fully integrated, global biopharma company with a diversified pipeline of innovative oncology assets and strong track-record of commercial execution, and AnaCardio, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel drugs to treat heart failure, are pleased to announce that AnaCardio has exercised its option to license from Helsinn a program in heart failure, a condition which is associated with poor quality of life, poor prognosis and which remains a major unmet medical need.
Under the terms of the agreement, and upon payment of an undisclosed amount, AnaCardio has exercised its option and obtained an exclusive license from Helsinn for clinical development of the program in heart failure, with potential downstream revenue sharing upon the further license, sale or commercialization of the program.
Following pre-clinical and clinical discovery of a novel mode of action in the cardiovascular and heart failure setting by Prof. Lars Lund, Founder of Anacardio and Professor of Cardiology at the Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, Anacardio intend to initiate a proof-of-concept phase II clinical trial, which is expected to start in mid 2022.
Giorgio Calderari, Helsinn Group CEO: “As Helsinn continues to focus on its recently announced Fully Integrated Targeted Therapy (FITT) Strategy developing innovative oncology assets, it is great to see one of our proprietary, non-core, programs being taken forward in a cardiovascular indication. Benefitting from our deep expertise and the comprehensive pre-clinical and phase I data we have generated, Prof. Lund and AnaCardio are ideally placed to continue the clinical development of this program in heart failure. We are looking forward to supporting AnaCardio as it endeavors to develop a new treatment option for patients”
Patrik Strömberg, CEO at AnaCardio: "We are honoured to be collaborating with such an experienced and successful company like Helsinn. This license agreement completes the transformation of AnaCardio into a fully operational, clinical-stage development company, and underscores our commitment to the heart failure community and to develop safe and efficacious treatments for this underserved patient group.”
Prof. Lund commented: “Heart failure is associated with poor quality of life and is among the most common causes of hospitalization and death. We are very excited to have a first-in-class innovative treatment concept, with the potential to improve cardiac contractility, and thus has the ultimate goal to improve symptoms and outcomes both in the immediate setting of acute heart failure, and long term in chronic heart failure.”
About the Helsinn Group
Helsinn is a fully integrated, global biopharma company headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland. It is focused on improving the lives of cancer patients all over the world with a leading position in cancer supportive care and an innovative pipeline of cancer therapeutics.
Helsinn is a third-generation family-owned company, that since 1976 has been focused on improving the lives of patients, guided by core values of respect, integrity and quality. It operates a unique licensing business model with integrated drug development and manufacturing capabilities. Helsinn has a commercial presence in 190 countries either directly, with operating subsidiaries in the U.S. and China, or via its network of long-standing trusted partners. Helsinn also has a fully integrated supply chain and product development through its subsidiary in Ireland, Helsinn Birex Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Helsinn Group plays an active and central role in promoting social transformation in favor of people and the environment. Corporate social responsibility is at the heart of everything we do, which is reinforced in the company’s strategic plan by a commitment to sustainable growth.
To learn more about Helsinn Group please visit www.helsinn.com
About Anacardio
AnaCardio AB is a privately held Swedish, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel drugs to treat heart failure. AnaCardio was founded based on ground-breaking research from Karolinska Institutet showing improved contractility of the heart muscle through a unique and differentiated mechanism. Its lead program AC01 is planned to enter phase II clinical development in heart failure patients in 2022.
You can find more information about AnaCardio at www.anacardio.com.
For more information:
Helsinn Group Media Contact:
Paola Bonvicini
Group Head of Communication
Lugano, Switzerland
Tel: +41 (0) 91 985 21 21
Email: Info-hhc@helsinn.com
For more information, please visit www.helsinn.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn
AnaCardio Contact:
Patrik Strömberg
CEO
Tel: +46 (0) 704 156 159
Email: patrik.stromberg@anacardio.com
