Cardiac hypertrophy is a main contributor to heart failure, where therapeutic options are limited. Increasing evidence exists regarding up-regulation of histone lysine-specific demethylase 4A (KDM4A) in patients with cardiac hypertrophy as a risk factor, although the mechanisms behind are not well understood.
Myocardial hypertrophy is a condition characterized by thickening of the ventricular wall and commonly associated with progression to heart failure. It develops when the heart is subjected to biomechanical stress or neurohormonal or hemodynamic stimuli.
In what co-founder and CEO Claudia Ulbrich called the “right decision with right partner at the right point in time,” Cardior Pharmaceuticals GmbH agreed to an acquisition by Novo Nordisk A/S in a deal worth up to €1.025 billion (US$1.1 billion) that puts a potentially disease-modifying heart failure candidate in the hands of a big pharma player in the midst of establishing its presence in cardiovascular disease.
Vivasc Therapeutics Inc. has initiated work under a second National Institutes of Health (NIH) phase I STTR research grant, in conjunction with Georgetown University.
New treatments for cardiac hypertrophy, a thickening of the heart in response to pressure overload, could potentially treat or even reverse the condition after a new breakthrough discovery identified the mechanism that causes the heart's muscle to thicken, increasing the risk of irregular heart rhythms and heart failure.
