“For decades, our team has observed significant treatment gaps across cardiovascular disease - from clinical care to investment in new medicines. While current standards of care play an important role, collectively, they fail to address the global health emergency in front of us,” said Tassos Gianakakos, chief executive officer and chair of Kardigan. “At Kardigan, we are bringing together a world-class team of experts to think differently with a singular focus to deliver multiple important medicines at an unprecedented rate. Our cardiac intelligence model enables our teams to generate and share data across Kardigan’s programs, increasing our efficiency and probability of success in each of our late-stage programs that were carefully curated to advance our mission.”

Combining its leading-edge discovery and translational research platform with strategic in-licensing and acquisitions, Kardigan is building a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company to advance treatments targeted to an individual’s disease. The company’s R&D platform leverages a proprietary set of cardiac-specific tools that enable a deep understanding of the mechanisms across its therapeutic candidates as well as patients’ individualized responses to treatment. This approach matches critical disease drivers with treatment responders to streamline clinical trials and deliver novel therapies to those who have the greatest potential to benefit, while identifying alternative therapies for those who may not.

“Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death worldwide, claiming tens of millions of lives each year, with rates of disease increasing. Despite this, the development of potentially lifesaving therapies for cardiovascular disease lags efforts in other disease areas,” said Jay Edelberg, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer. “We are relentless in our pursuit to discover and develop a portfolio of disease modifying medicines that move the field beyond symptom management toward functional cures.”

Led by Gianakakos, alongside Dr. Edelberg and chief scientific officer Bob McDowell, Ph.D., the co-founders have reunited after leading MyoKardia to discover and develop mavacamten, the first cardiac myosin inhibitor, resulting in an acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2020. They are joined by Leslie Leinwand, Ph.D., distinguished professor and chief scientific officer of the BioFrontiers Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Beth McNally, M.D., Ph.D., Elizabeth J. Ward professor of Genetic Medicine, director of the Center for Genetic Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in founding the company.

Under their direction, Kardigan brings together a robust team of accomplished executives with deep cardiovascular, biotechnology and operational expertise to build an enduring and game-changing biopharmaceutical company. The broader Kardigan executive team includes:

• Brianne Jahn, chief financial officer
• Minako Pazdera, Ph.D., J.D., general counsel and corporate secretary
• Emily Faucette, chief communications officer
• Diane Hagerty, chief quality officer
• Donald MacKenzie, Ph.D., chief technical operations officer
• Liz Nguyen, chief people officer
• Amy Westfall, vice president, portfolio and project management

In addition, Kardigan has assembled an industry-leading board of directors spanning notable scientists, drug developers and seasoned business builders to support the company’s strategic growth and direction. Gianakakos will serve as chair of the board with additional directors:

• Paul Berns, managing director of ARCH Venture Partners
• Doug Giordano, managing director of Perceptive Advisors and co-head of Perceptive Discovery
• David Meeker, M.D., chief executive officer, president, and chair of the board at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals
• Kim Popovits, former chief executive officer, president, and chair of the board at Genomic Health (acquired by Exact Sciences in 2019)

The company recently closed a $300 million Series A financing led by Perceptive Advisors, ARCH Venture Partners, and Sequoia Heritage. Funds from this raise will be used to advance Kardigan’s focus on areas of most unmet need in cardiology, starting with disease opportunities and patient segments that are resistant or poorly managed on current therapies, including primary and secondary cardiomyopathies leading to heart failure.