Kardigan, a biotechnology company focused on modernizing cardiovascular drug development, announced it has raised $254 million in a Series B funding round to accelerate its late-stage portfolio of personalized medicines targeting heart disease. The round included new investors Fidelity Management & Research Company and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Investment Management, alongside continued support from ARCH Venture Partners and Sequoia Heritage.
The funding will enable Kardigan to advance three lead clinical programs designed to address the root causes of severe cardiovascular conditions that currently lack effective treatments.
The capital infusion will drive progress across programs targeting specific types of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), calcific aortic valve stenosis (CAVS), and acute severe hypertension (ASH). Each condition represents a high unmet need in cardiology, with millions of patients worldwide facing limited or no disease-modifying treatment options. Kardigan’s approach centers on precision cardiology—developing therapies tailored to the biological drivers of each disease rather than managing symptoms alone.
The company’s lead programs include danicamtiv, a cardiac myosin activator targeting genetic forms of DCM caused by sarcomeric variants; tonlamarsen, an angiotensinogen-targeted therapy aimed at interrupting the dangerous physiological cycle of acute severe hypertension; and ataciguat, a once-daily oral soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) activator being developed as a potential first-in-class treatment for calcific aortic valve stenosis.
Ataciguat could offer a long-awaited alternative to the “watchful waiting” approach currently used for CAVS patients who have no approved medical therapy until surgical intervention becomes necessary.
Kardigan’s scientific platform integrates advanced data analytics, genetics, and translational insights to identify disease mechanisms and match them with responsive patient populations.
By utilizing what it calls “cardiac intelligence,” the company seeks to accelerate the pace of therapeutic innovation in cardiology. This model aims to deliver multiple late-stage clinical readouts beginning in 2026, potentially transforming the standard of care for patients with severe cardiovascular diseases.
The Series B funding underscores continued investor confidence in Kardigan’s ability to deliver breakthroughs in a field that remains the leading cause of death globally. The company’s leadership describes its mission as making cardiovascular disease preventable, curable, and no longer the top global killer—a vision rooted in developing therapies that modify disease biology to restore cardiac function.
Kardigan operates from dual headquarters in South San Francisco, California, and Princeton, New Jersey, and continues to recruit leading scientific and clinical experts as it advances its therapeutic pipeline toward pivotal trials and potential regulatory submissions.
KEY QUOTE:
“The support of our new and existing investors affirms the strength of Kardigan’s differentiated scientific strategy and bold vision to make cardiovascular disease preventable, curable, and no longer the leading cause of death in the world. We are building a different, capital-efficient company powered by science, data, and technology. With cardiac intelligence, Kardigan is advancing an unparalleled understanding of the heart, redefining the model for therapeutic innovation—one designed to address cardiovascular diseases at their source rather than just manage symptoms.”
Tassos Gianakakos, Co-founder, CEO, and Chair of Kardigan
