Former chief medical officer of MyoKardia to lead clinical development at Renovacor
PHILADELPHIA and BOSTON, June 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Renovacor, Inc. (“Renovacor”), an early‑stage biotechnology company developing adeno-associated virus (AAV)‑based gene therapies for devastating cardiovascular and central nervous system (“CNS”) diseases resulting from BAG3 gene variants, today announced the appointment of Marc Semigran, M.D., as chief medical officer of Renovacor. Dr. Semigran brings considerable clinical development and translational medicine experience to Renovacor, having previously served as chief medical officer and senior vice president of medical science at MyoKardia through its acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb (“BMS”) in 2020 for $13.1 billion. He will be responsible for the management and global development of Renovacor’s pipeline.
“Marc is an ideal fit for our management team, as his extensive clinical and regulatory expertise in the cardiovascular space is highly relevant to Renovacor’s vision of delivering transformative therapies for devastating cardiovascular diseases,” said Magdalene Cook, M.D., chief executive officer of Renovacor. “We have made considerable progress in advancing our lead candidate, REN-001, through research, preclinical, and now IND-enabling studies. As we advance toward an anticipated IND application for REN-001 in mid-2022, Marc’s cardiovascular drug development expertise will be an invaluable asset. We are thrilled to welcome him to the team and are eager to begin working together as we prepare to move the company into the next phase as a clinical-stage company.”
Dr. Semigran commented, “In looking to the future of cardiovascular medicine, it is increasingly clear that gene therapies represent an emerging technology with the potential to address familial cardiomyopathies with no approved therapeutic options targeting the underlying abnormality. I believe Renovacor’s pipeline is particularly well positioned to realize this potential, as it is utilizing a validated capsid and its lead indication of BAG3-associated familial dilated cardiomyopathy (“DCM”) is an increasingly well understood monogenic disease. I look forward to applying my experience as a heart failure clinician and in cardiomyopathy drug development to help efficiently advance this pipeline in DCM and other cardiovascular and CNS indications where BAG3 gene dysfunction is relevant.”
During his time at MyoKardia, Dr. Semigran built and expanded his research and development team in order to execute successful translational and development programs including the advancement of mavacamten for patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Dr. Semigran oversaw the execution of Phase 1 and 2 studies, the design of registrational studies, interactions with global regulatory authorities, and also participated in the filing of the mavacamten New Drug Application (“NDA”) following the acquisition of MyoKardia.
Prior to entering the biotechnology industry, Dr. Semigran led the Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant Program as Section Head and Medical Director. In addition, he led the Harvard Regional Clinical Center of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (“NHLBI”) Heart Failure Network and was a Principal Investigator of a multicenter heart failure trial sponsored by the NHLBI. Dr. Semigran was a member of the internal medicine and cardiology staff of Massachusetts General Hospital for more than 25 years and was an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Semigran has published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers in cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and cardiac transplantation, and served as editor for a leading textbook on heart failure. He is a recipient of numerous National Institutes of Health and industry research awards and has served as principal or co-investigator in several major clinical trials across various therapeutic areas. In addition, he has served in scientific and medical advisory capacities to companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Medtronic, and Bayer.
Dr. Semigran earned A.B., A.M., and M.D. degrees from Harvard University. He completed his internal medicine residency, cardiology, and heart failure fellowship training at Massachusetts General Hospital.
About Renovacor
Renovacor is a preclinical stage gene therapy company developing a pipeline of innovative and proprietary AAV‑based gene therapies for BAG3 gene mutation-associated diseases in areas of high unmet medical need. Renovacor’s therapeutic focus is initially on cardiovascular disease, with a lead program in BAG3 mutation-associated dilated cardiomyopathy. For more information, please visit www.renovacor.com. No part of Renovacor’s website is incorporated by reference into or otherwise seemed to be a part of this press release.
Renovacor previously announced that it had entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Chardan Healthcare Acquisition 2 Corp. (NYSE: CHAQ) (“CHAQ”), a special purposes acquisition company. Completion of the proposed business combination is subject to approval by the shareholders of CHAQ and certain other conditions. The proposed business combination is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.
About Chardan Healthcare Acquisition Corp.
CHAQ is a special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, acquisition, or similar business combination. CHAQ raised approximately $86.0 million in April 2020 for the purpose of combining with a public or privately-held operating business. CHAQ was founded and sponsored by affiliates of Chardan Capital Markets LLC. CHAQ is Chardan’s sixth publicly traded acquisition vehicle.
Additional Information and Where to Find It
This communication is being made in respect of a proposed transaction between Renovacor and CHAQ. This document does not constitute an offer to sell or exchange, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or exchange, any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, sale or exchange would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. CHAQ intends to file a proxy statement, which will be sent to all CHAQ and Renovacor stockholders. CHAQ also will file other documents regarding the proposed transaction with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING DECISION, INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF CHAQ AND RENOVACOR ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT, AS MAY BE AMENDED OR SUPPLEMENTED FROM TIME TO TIME, AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED OR THAT WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND THE PARTIES THERETO.
Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC by CHAQ through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. In addition, the documents filed by CHAQ may be obtained free of charge from CHAQ’s website at https://www.chardanhealthcarespac.com/ or by written request to CHAQ at Chardan Healthcare Acquisition 2 Corp., 17 State Street, 21st Floor, New York, NY 10004.
Participants in Solicitation
CHAQ and Renovacor and their respective directors and officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from CHAQ’s stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Information about CHAQ’s directors and executive officers and their ownership of CHAQ’s securities is set forth in CHAQ’s filings with the SEC, including CHAQ’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on March 4, 2021. To the extent that holdings of CHAQ’s securities have changed since the amounts printed in CHAQ’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on March 4, 2021, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC. Additional information regarding the interests of those persons and other persons who may be deemed participants in the proposed transaction may be obtained by reading the proxy statement regarding the proposed transaction when it becomes available. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described in the above paragraph.
Forward-Looking Statements Legend
This communication contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including statements regarding the anticipated timing of the transaction and Renovacor’s products under development. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this communication. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of CHAQ’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and proxy statement discussed above and other documents filed by CHAQ from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Renovacor and CHAQ assume no obligation and do not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Neither Renovacor nor CHAQ gives any assurance that either Renovacor or CHAQ will achieve its expectations.
Investor Contact:
John Mullaly
LifeSci Advisors
617-429-3548
jmullaly@lifesciadvisors.com
Media Contact:
Patrick Bursey
LifeSci Communications
646-970-4688
pbursey@lifescicomms.com
