Celladon Announces Device Partnership With V-KARDIA PTY LTD, a Company if the Baker Research Institute
June 20, 2005
La Jolla, CA– June 20, 2005– Celladon Corporation announced today that it has entered into an agreement with V-Kardia, a company of The Baker Research Institute, under which V-Kardia will develop its V-Focus device for percutaneous delivery of Celladon’s gene therapy for congestive heart failure and supply devices to Celladon.
Under the terms of the agreement, V-Kardia will develop the device for Celladon’s gene therapy product and provide devices for Celladon’s clinical trials in heart failure patients scheduled to commence in 2006. V-Kardia receives contract development payments, payments for devices, and license fees including milestones and royalties on product sales. Celladon receives options to use the V-Kardia system with five additional therapeutic targets for cardiovascular and other indications.
The partnership agreement follows on preclinical results announced June 2 at the American Association of Gene Therapy conference in St Louis, where The Baker Research Institute presented data from V-Kardia’s research collaboration with Celladon in heart failure. V-Kardia’s device was used to deliver Celladon’s gene therapy targeting the Sarcoplasmic Reticulum ATPase2a (SERCA2a) calcium cycling pathway in myocardium. In a sheep pacing model of heart failure, the gene therapy treatments reversed the deterioration of heart function and essentially restored the cardiac function of the animals to normal levels.
V-Kardia developed the V-Focus device based on the pioneering work of the Baker Research Institute. The system delivers therapeutics to the heart in a closed loop system that includes special catheters, an oxygenator and perfusion pump. The catheter technique is similar to methods currently used for coronary angioplasty, and is easily adapted by interventional cardiologists.
“Celladon’s research collaboration with V-Kardia has produced promising results and we’re pleased to expand the partnership to include clinical development and supply of the devices to Celladon,” said Steven Brauer, COO of Celladon. “Celladon's therapeutic candidate targets the SERCA2a pathway, and malfunction in this pathway is associated with progressive heart failure. Percutaneous delivery assures applicability to a broad heart failure patient population, and the V-Kardia device is important for minimizing dose and maximizing therapeutic effects of the combination Celladon’s drug/device.”
About Congestive Heart Failure
Over five million people in the U.S. suffer from CHF, a serious condition in which the heart loses its ability to pump blood efficiently. Over 550,000 new cases of heart failure are diagnosed every year in the U.S. Seventy percent of people with heart failure die of the disease within 10 years; the five-year survival is less than 50 percent. Heart failure is the only cardiovascular disease that has been increasing rather than decreasing in frequency. The disease is most common in people aged 65 or older, women and African Americans.
About Celladon
Celladon Corporation is a molecular cardiology company based in La Jolla, California and founded by Roger J. Hajjar, M.D and Kenneth R. Chien M.D., Ph.D.. The company’s first product uses a gene based therapy to enhance calcium cycling in the heart of patients with congestive heart failure. In January 2005, Celladon Corporation entered into a partnership agreement with Targeted Genetics Corporation (Nasdaq: TGEN) to develop adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapies for the treatment of congestive heart failure. Founding investors in Celladon include Enterprise Partners Venture Capital and Venrock Associates. www.celladon.net.
Contact: Moya Gollaher
Enterprise Partners Venture Capital
(858) 731-0244
About V-Kardia
V-Kardia is a cardiovascular device company spun-out from the Baker Heart Research Institute and is 100% owned by the Institute. Incorporated in January 2005 it is the first company to be formed around intellectual property developed by the Institute’s scientists. V-Kardia has developed a percutaneous delivery system for delivering gene therapies and drugs directly to the heart. It also has applications for other organs.
Contact: Margherita Boemo
Baker Heart Research Institute
Melbourne, Australia
0418 508 511
Julia Hill
Can be reached in the U.S. at the 2005 Bio Conference in Philadelphia:
(551) 221-2385