Cardiol Therapeutics Inc.(TSX:CRDL)

Cardiol Therapeutics Inc.

Investor website: https://www.cardiolrx.com/

About

Cardiol Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDL) (TSX: CRDL) is a late-stage life sciences company focused on advancing the development of anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic therapies for heart disease. The Company’s lead small-molecule drug candidate, CardiolRx™, modulates inflammasome pathway activation, an intracellular process known to play an important role in the development and progression of inflammation and fibrosis associated with pericarditis, myocarditis, and heart failure.

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Shares outstanding
115.24m
Fully diluted shares
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Projects
["CardiolRx™ (cannabidiol) oral solution is in clinical development for use in the treatment of heart disease. CardiolRx™ attenuates multiple inflammatory signaling pathways, including inhibiting activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, which is known to play an important role in the inflammation and fibrosis associated with pericarditis, myocarditis, and heart failure. CardiolRx™ is pharmaceutically manufactured under cGMP to meet the highest standards for product purity, consistency, and stability. A Phase I safety and pharmacokinetic study of single and multiple ascending doses of CardiolRx™ was completed and demonstrated that CardiolRx™ was safe and generally well tolerated at all dose levels, with no serious adverse events reported. The results supported the Company’s two Investigational New Drug Application authorizations from the United States Food and Drug Administration to conduct two Phase II studies in rare heart diseases: recurrent pericarditis and acute myocarditis. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for CardiolRx™ for the treatment of pericarditis, which includes recurrent pericarditis. CardiolRx™ is also eligible for FDA ODD in acute myocarditis and European Medicine Agency orphan medicine designations for recurrent pericarditis and acute myocarditis.","CRD-38 is a novel subcutaneously administered drug formulation of cannabidiol intended for use in heart failure. We are undertaking IND-enabling activities to support clinical evaluation of CRD-38 as a therapeutic strategy in heart failure care. We are currently developing CRD-38 that is intended to improve the pharmacokinetic profile compared to existing formulations. Subcutaneous administration has the potential to allow for a lower dose of drug to be delivered with less frequent administration, while achieving the same or greater therapeutic effect. Our research collaborators have shown that cannabidiol, when administered subcutaneously, is effective in a pre-clinical model of heart failure. The subcutaneous approach is practical and widely used in human medicine although the formulation requires specific characteristics. We have successfully developed a formulation that meets these required characteristics. Currently, this formulation is undergoing pharmacokinetic testing."]
Leadership
David Elsley, MBA President and Chief Executive Officer Mr. David Elsley is a business leader with a proven track record of developing, financing and managing all aspects of corporate development in biotechnology and high-growth organizations. In 1990, Mr. Elsley founded Vasogen Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the research and commercial development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of heart failure and other inflammatory conditions. Mr. Elsley assembled a team of management, directors and scientific advisors comprising industry professionals and thought leaders from North America and Europe. Mr. Elsley managed and directed Vasogen’s growth from start-up to an organization employing over 250 people with operations and R&D programs in Canada, the United States and Europe. He established the research and development infrastructure, partnerships, manufacturing capability, and corporate quality systems necessary to advance two anti-inflammatory therapies from concept to completion of international multi-center pivotal phase III clinical trials involving 2,500 patients. Vasogen went public on the TSX and the Nasdaq, raising over $200 million to support corporate development and reached a market capitalization of over US$ 1 billion. Mr. Elsley holds a Master of Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario. Andrew Hamer, MBChB Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research & Development Dr. Andrew Hamer brings 30 years of experience in the global life sciences industry, medical affairs, and cardiology practice to the Company. Most recently he served as Executive Director, Global Development-Cardiometabolic at California-based Amgen Inc., where he led the Global Development group for Repatha®, the LDL cholesterol lowering PCSK9 inhibitor evolocumab, which generated revenues of almost US $900 million in 2020. As development lead, Dr. Hamer headed the Repatha® global evidence generation team collaborating with safety, regulatory, health economics, observational research, scientific communications, publications, medical affairs, and clinical operations teams to design and execute several multi-center clinical trials in support of FDA and international regulatory filings. Prior to his five-year tenure with Amgen, Dr. Hamer served for two years as VP Medical Affairs at Capricor Therapeutics Inc., where he was responsible for the development of novel therapeutics for heart disease and for the supervision of the clinical operations of the company, including clinical trial design and execution. Prior to joining the life sciences industry, Dr. Hamer practiced cardiology and internal medicine in New Zealand for 19 years. His distinguished career in cardiology culminated as Chief Cardiologist at Nelson Hospital, Nelson Marlborough District Health Board, Nelson, while concurrently leading cardiac services nationally in New Zealand. Dr. Hamer graduated with a medical degree (MB, ChB) from the University of Otago, New Zealand, an internationally recognized medical school which recently ranked among the top twenty universities in the world in several medical subject categories. His clinical research training took place at various centres in New Zealand and London, UK, followed by a cardiology fellowship at Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston. Dr. Hamer has co-authored many high-quality peer-reviewed scientific publications reflecting his considerable experience as a clinical trialist, having served as a principal or co-investigator for 40 multi-centre clinical trials in therapies for acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, hypertension, cholesterol disorders, atrial fibrillation, and diabetes. Chris Waddick, MBA, CPA, CMA Chief Financial Officer Mr. Chris Waddick has over thirty years of experience in financial and executive roles in the biotechnology and energy industries, with substantial knowledge of public company management and corporate governance, and in designing, building, and managing financial processes, procedures, and infrastructure. Mr. Waddick has served as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of Cardiol since August 16, 2018. He serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for a private Ontario energy company where he was retained by the shareholders to refinance the company and establish a new strategic direction, as well as the appropriate financial infrastructure. Mr. Waddick spent more than twelve years at Vasogen Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the research and commercial development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of heart failure and other inflammatory conditions. While serving as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, the company grew from start up to an organization employing over 250 employees that established the necessary systems and infrastructure to advance an anti‑inflammatory therapy through to the completion of an international multi-center pivotal trial involving 2,500 patients. Vasogen went public on the TSX and the NASDAQ, raising over $200 million to support corporate development and reached a market capitalization of over US$ 1 billion. Prior to Vasogen, he held progressively senior financial positions at Magna International Inc. and Union Gas Limited. Mr. Waddick is a CPA and earned a business degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Master of Business Administration from York University. Bernard Lim, MIET, CEng (UK) Chief Operating Officer Mr. Lim has a proven track record of over thirty years as a senior executive leading life sciences companies spanning biotechnology, diagnostics, medical devices, and high-technology companies in North America and Europe. He leads senior management teams through a sustained focus on strategy, rapid scale up and increasing talent depth to expand markets served. He was founder and CEO of a highly successful drug delivery company that he led from R&D through to commercialization and its eventual acquisition by Eli Lily. As Chair of the Board of Acuity Insights, he guided its spinout from the university and its subsequent growth to become market leader in US and Canada. In addition, as Chair of the Board and CEO of AndersDx (UK), he led its turnaround and growth. He is also currently Chair of the Board of Front Line Medical Technologies, a vascular trauma company. Bernard was board director of Aventamed (Ireland) recently acquired by Karl Storz, Senior Vice President, Operations for Vasogen, as well as head of UK operations for a technology multinational where he scaled its operations exponentially and delivered multifold improvements in quality and financial performance. He was CEO of a glaucoma, Alzheimer’s and an IVD company and prior to that head of R&D for a global neonatology and paediatrics company. Over his career, he has delivered exceptional results in fast growing companies and held corporate roles focused on increasing innovation while accelerating and sustaining growth. In addition, he serves as an external independent expert reviewer on public sector life science investment programs. Andrea B. Parker, MSc, PhD Vice President of Clinical Operations and Study Design Dr. Parker is a senior executive with more than 30 years of experience in the execution of Phase I-IV research programs in the biomedical and medical device sectors. She was involved in the organization and execution of many large-scale international clinical trials, specializing in cardiovascular disease, pain management, and imaging techniques. She worked in academic settings, as well as for Contract Research Organisations and for Industry. Prior to joining Cardiol Therapeutics Inc., she was Chief Scientific Officer at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, University Health Network in Toronto, where she provided scientific support for industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated trials, including clinical team and committee management, budget allocation, and grant writing support (2010 – 2019). Dr. Parker also served as Vice President, Clinical Development for Fralex Therapeutic Inc., a medical device company in the therapeutic area of pain management. She held the position Director, Clinical Affairs at Vasogen Inc., where she was responsible for the execution of two pivotal trials, involving more than 200 sites in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Prior to Vasogen Inc., Dr. Parker was the Managing Director of the offices in Boston and in Toronto for a Contract Research Organization (Société de la Recherche Cardiologique) based in Switzerland. She was responsible for day-to-day management of the company, as well as setting strategic directions for all clinical affairs services. This included building infrastructure and framework to further expand the company’s projects, as well as overseeing staff. Dr. Parker graduated with a Master of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Leipzig (Germany); she holds a MSc in Clinical Epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health and a PhD in Medical Sciences from the University of Toronto. John A. Geddes, MBA Vice President, Corporate Development Mr. John Geddes has over 25 years experience in the healthcare industry, comprising roles within pharmaceutical, biotechnology, clinical diagnostics, and life science research technology companies. Throughout his career Mr. Geddes has consistently delivered value across multiple functions including business and corporate development, strategic and new product planning, marketing, sales, market access, and medical/clinical affairs. He has extensive leadership and management experience within rapidly growing organizations whose assets span the full range of product lifecycle from basic research and clinical development to commercialization. His specialties include licensing, alliance management, corporate and brand planning, market research and intelligence, business analytics, and marketing. Mr. Geddes most recently served as Corporate Senior Director, Business Development at Luminex Corporation, a DiaSorin Company, where he identified, negotiated and annually closed deals worth several million dollars in new business. Throughout his eleven years with Luminex he held several Business Development positions where he was responsible for the negotiation of major customer agreements, acquiring new partnership deals, and leadership of key revenue growth initiatives. Prior to Luminex, he was Associate Director, New Business Development at Novo Nordisk Canada Inc., and Vice-President, Business Development and Marketing at Vasogen Inc. where he led licensing and pre-commercialization activities. Mr. Geddes has an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, and a Bachelor of Science, Physical Therapy from Queen’s University. Anne Tomalin, BA, BSc, RAC Senior Director of Regulatory and Quality Ms. Tomalin has a strong background in business, government, regulations, and reimbursement policies and has practiced exclusively in regulatory affairs since 1971. In September 2013, she founded TPIreg Inc., a Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance company providing consulting services for Canada and the United States to the healthcare industry. TPIreg Inc. was acquired by Innomar Strategies in 2019. Prior to TPIreg, in September 1996, Ms. Tomalin founded CanReg Inc. which became Canada’s largest Regulatory Affairs consulting firm with more than 100 staff, assisting clients with Health Canada, FDA, and EMA matters, before being acquired by United Health Inc. in December 2009. Prior to this, she was employed by Searle Canada for 20 years as Business Unit Director. Ms. Tomalin has participated in the Regulatory Initiatives Advisory Committee for the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association Canada (PMAC). She has also served on the executive of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Group (PSG) and the Canadian Association of Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs (CAPRA). Ms. Tomalin currently sits on the Advisory Board for CAPRA in Canada and has also chaired the Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario Committees for the PMAC, now Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC). She is engaged in teaching several regulatory courses to industry, has been an instructor at Humber College, and currently serves on their Advisory Panel. She has published numerous papers on regulatory affairs and issues. Ms. Tomalin is a graduate of York University with a BA in English and BSc in Chemistry and holds certifications from the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society in US, European, and Canadian Regulatory Affairs. Dan Crandall, CPA, CA Vice President of Finance Mr. Dan Crandall has over eighteen years of experience in public company finance, accounting, regulatory compliance, financial reporting, capital markets, and management advisory services, with substantial knowledge of IFRS technical requirements, public company disclosure, corporate governance, and financial processes and infrastructure. Mr. Crandall serves as Vice President of Finance at Cardiol Therapeutics. He joined Cardiol in January 2019, previously serving as Director of Finance. Prior to joining Cardiol, Mr. Crandall spent more than six years with Marrelli Support Services Inc., where he provided Chief Financial Officer, director, accounting, regulatory compliance, and management advisory services, to numerous issuers listed on the TSX, TSX Venture Exchange, CSE, and other international exchanges. In that role, he served as Chief Financial Officer and director of numerous small to mid-cap reporting issuers, advised senior management and boards on financial reporting, operational, strategic, and capital markets matters. Earlier in his career, Mr. Crandall spent more than five years with Collins Barrow Toronto LLP, where he managed public company audits and advised clients on audit, tax, reporting, and operational matters. Mr. Crandall is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Chartered Accountant and holds an Honours Bachelor of Accounting degree from Brock University. Board of Directors: Guillermo Torre-Amione, MD, PhD Chairman Board certified in cardiovascular disease and Advanced Heart Failure/Transplant Cardiology, Dr. Guillermo Torre-Amione is former chief of the Heart Failure Division and former medical director of Cardiac Transplantation at the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center. He is also Professor of Cardiology at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Houston, Professor of Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, New York, and President of TecSalud, an academic medical center and medical school of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) in Mexico. Dr. Torre-Amione spearheads the Gene and Judy Campbell Laboratory for Cardiac Transplant Research, where his primary areas of research include heart failure, cardiac transplant, and the role of the immune response in modulating the progression of heart failure. Dr. Torre-Amione initiated a series of clinical studies that led to an FDA-approved Phase II clinical trial of neurostimulation in heart failure, a novel approach to the treatment of patients with advanced heart failure. Other significant clinical investigations include a study with cardiac transplant patients designed to impact the cardiac hypertrophy that naturally follows transplantation, a protocol for autologous stem cell transfer in patients with advanced refractory heart failure, and a novel study involving plasma exchange in advanced heart failure patients. After receiving his medical degree from the ITESM in Monterrey, Mexico, Dr. Torre-Amione moved to Chicago, where he conducted graduate studies in immunology that led to a doctorate degree in immunology from the University of Chicago. He then moved to Houston to complete his internship, residency, and cardiology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine, where he received his first academic appointment as a clinical instructor in 1995. Dr. Torre-Amione has published more than 170 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and currently divides his time between his clinical and academic activities in Houston at The Methodist Hospital and in Monterrey, Mexico, at ITESM. Jennifer M. Chao, BA Director Ms. Chao has over 25 years of experience in the biotech and life sciences industries focused primarily on finance and corporate strategy. She is Managing Partner of CoreStrategies Management, LLC, a company she founded in 2008 to provide transformational corporate and financial strategies to biotech/life science companies for maximizing core valuation. Ms. Chao also serves as a biopharma securities expert witness for high-level biopharma litigation matters, working with large economic consulting firms and law firms; cases have involved material and fair disclosure, valuation, and insider trading. She currently serves on the board of directors of Endo Pharmaceuticals and is a member of the Audit Committee and Compliance Committee. Ms. Chao also serves on the board of directors of Edesa Biotech as Chair of Nominating and Corporate Governance, and a member of the Audit Committee. Prior to joining Endo, Ms. Chao served as Chairman of the Board of BioSpecifics Technologies Corp. (BioSpecifics) from October 2019 until its acquisition by Endo for approximately US$660 million in December 2020. She also served as Chair of BioSpecifics’ Compensation Committee and as a member of the Audit Committee, Strategy Committee, Intellectual Property Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee from 2015 to 2020. Additionally, from 2004 to 2008, Ms. Chao was Managing Director and Senior Lead Biotechnology Securities Analyst at Deutsche Bank, responsible for U.S. large- and small- to mid-cap biotechnology companies with global client coverage; and was known for differentiated fundamentals securities analysis and high visibility coverage of game changing technologies, paradigm shifting treatment algorithms, industry trends and portfolio risk/reward management. Prior to that, Ms. Chao served as Managing Director and Senior Lead Biotechnology Analyst at RBC Capital Markets and VP, Senior Biotechnology Analyst at Leerink Swann & Co. Ms. Chao was a research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, as a recipient of the BioMedical Research Career Award, and received her B.A. in Politics and Greek Classics from New York University. Teri Loxam, MBA Director Teri Loxam has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, life sciences, and TMT industries with diverse roles spanning strategy, investor relations, finance, and communications. Ms. Loxam is the Chief Financial Officer of Compass Pathways plc (Nasdaq: CMPS), a biotechnology company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health. Ms. Loxam previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Gameto, a biotechnology company using cell engineering to develop therapeutics for diseases of the female reproductive system. In this role, Ms. Loxam oversaw the financial function, as well as played a key role in overall company strategy. Prior to joining Gameto, Ms. Loxam was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Kira Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biotech company developing transformative therapies for people with complement-mediated diseases. Prior to joining Kira, Ms. Loxam served as Chief Financial Officer at SQZ Biotech where she led the company’s financial operations, investor relations and communications/public relations functions. While at SQZ, she was instrumental in helping the company raise over $200M in private and public funding, including taking the company public through an IPO on the NYSE in October 2020. Prior to joining SQZ, Ms. Loxam held various positions at Merck, IMAX Corporation, and Bristol-Myers Squibb across strategy, investor relations, treasury, and communications,. She started her career as a marine biologist and worked at Sea World of San Diego before making a transition into business. Ms. Loxam is a member of the board of directors and audit chair of Vaxcyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCVX). She holds an MBA from the University of California, Irvine, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Victoria, B.C., Canada. Peter Pekos, BSc, MSc Director Mr. Pekos is a veteran of the pharmaceutical services industry. In 1986, he was a founder of Dalton Pharma Services (Dalton). Over a period of 36 years, he directed Dalton’s growth based on strong client relationships. Dalton provides pharma and biotech clients with an array of integrated services in a world-class 42,000 square foot facility, with more than 140 employees, in the heart of one of North America’s largest biomedical clusters. This includes premium contract chemistry research, a full range of analytical support, medicinal chemistry, formulation, cGMP manufacture of solid dosage forms, and cGMP aseptic fill-in vials and syringes. Mr. Pekos is the former CEO of Dalton, where he guided the evolution of the company to best serve the changing needs of its clients throughout the major global economies, including the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. In 1983, he obtained a Chemistry/Biochemistry Double Specialist Degree with a Minor in Biology from the University of Toronto. In 1986, he completed a Master’s Degree in synthetic chemistry at York University, and with his Professor, Doug Butler, founded Dalton with a very modest amount of capital. The company used incubator facilities at York University, and initially manufactured and sold specialty chemical compounds. Mr. Pekos also founded Ashbury Biologicals. Inc., a phyto-pharmaceutical company, Jupiter Consumer Products, a company that targeted the development of adult-focused confections, and several other technology-based companies focused on advanced materials and pharmaceutical development tools. Mr. Pekos was founding Chairman of ventureLAB a Regional Innovation Center located at IBM’s York Region campus. VentureLAB guides government program delivery to support the innovation ecosystem for biotechnology and related industries in southern Ontario. Colin G. Stott, BSc (Hons) Director Mr. Stott is a veteran of the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, having almost 30 years’ experience in pre-clinical and clinical development, with specific expertise in the development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and 19 years’ experience in the field. Currently Chief Operating Officer of Alterola Biotech Inc., Mr. Stott is the former Scientific Affairs Director, International and R&D Operations Director for GW Pharmaceuticals plc (“GW Pharma”), a world leader in the development of cannabinoid therapeutics. As R&D Operations Director at GW Pharma for over 16 years, he was a key player in the development of their discovery and development pipeline, and was closely involved in the Marketing Authorization Application submission and approval of Sativex® and the New Drug Application submission of Epidiolex®, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an orphan drug for the treatment of rare forms of paediatric epilepsy in June 2018. More recently, as Scientific Affairs Director, International, he was part of the Medical Affairs team responsible for the preparation of the international launch of Epidiolex®. Prior to his 19-year tenure at GW Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Stott held various roles in Clinical Research and Development across a range of therapeutic areas, including: cardiology, oncology, urology, dermatology, metabolic disorders, neurology, haematology, and organ transplantation. Mr. Stott holds a BSc (Hons) in Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry and a Diploma in Industrial Studies from Loughborough University of Technology, U.K., as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Research from the Welsh School of Pharmacy, Cardiff University, U.K. He has published over 20 research papers and is a named inventor on 17 international patent applications. Tim Garnett, MD Director Dr. Garnett is a distinguished veteran of the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Garnett spent over 20 years at Eli Lilly and Company in roles of increasing responsibility including serving as Chief Medical Officer from 2008 until 2021. At Eli Lilly he led the successful development of therapeutics in women’s health care, endocrinology, and neuroscience resulting in multiple product launches globally. Dr. Garnett has extensive experience leading clinical development and in portfolio management, medical, regulatory, and safety functions, and he has a strategic understanding of the landscape for metabolic therapeutics. He is currently Board Chair of Ophirex, a public benefit corporation focused on developing an affordable, accessible, oral antivenom treatment and is a Board member of MapLight Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of patients suffering from debilitating brain disorders. In addition, Dr. Garnett is also a member of the Advisory Panel of Cambridge Innovation Capital and an equity partner at Recode Health Ventures LLC. He holds a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from St. George’s, University of London, and is a Fellow of both the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (FFPM), and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (FRCOG). Scientific Advisory Board: Paul M. Ridker, MD, MPH Dr. Ridker is director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, a translational research unit at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), Boston. A cardiovascular medicine specialist, he is also the Eugene Braunwald Professor of Medicine at Harvard School of Medicine (HMS). Dr. Ridker received his medical degree from HMS and then completed an internal medicine residency and a cardiology fellowship at BWH. Dr. Ridker is board certified in internal medicine. His clinical interests include coronary artery disease and the underlying causes and prevention of atherosclerotic disease. Dr. Ridker is the author of over 900 peer-reviewed publications and reviews, 64 book chapters, and six textbooks related to cardiovascular medicine. His primary research focus has involved inflammatory mediators of heart disease and the molecular and genetic epidemiology of hemostasis and thrombosis, with particular interests in biomarkers for coronary disease, “predictive” medicine, and the underlying causes and prevention of atherosclerotic disease. Notably, Dr. Ridker has been the Principal Investigator or Study Chairman of several large international trials that have demonstrated the role of inflammation in the genesis and management of coronary artery disease. He was included in TIME magazine’s list of 100 most influential people of 2004, and between the years 2000 and 2010, Dr. Ridker was among the ten most often cited researchers in cardiovascular medicine worldwide. Amongst many other honors, he received the American Heart Association Distinguished Scientist Award in 2013, gave the Braunwald Lecture of the American College of Cardiology in 2019, was awarded the Gotto Prize for Atherosclerosis Research from the International Atherosclerosis Society in 2021, and is an elected Member of the National Academy of Medicine (USA). Bruce McManus, PhD, MD Dr. McManus is Professor Emeritus, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, the University of British Columbia. He has served as CEO, Centre of Excellence for Prevention of Organ Failure (PROOF Centre), Director, UBC Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, and Scientific Director, Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, CIHR. Dr. McManus received BA and MD degrees (University of Saskatchewan), an MSc (Pennsylvania State University), and a PhD (University of Toledo). He pursued post-doctoral fellowships at the University of California, Santa Barbara (Environmental Physiology) and at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD (Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Pathology), and residency training at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Harvard University (Internal Medicine and Pathology). Dr. McManus’ investigative passion relates to mechanisms, consequences, detection and prevention of injury and aberrant repair in inflammatory diseases of the heart and blood vessels. He has had a longstanding interest in the diagnosis and management of acute viral myocarditis. His life’s scholarship is reflected in more than 400 original peer-reviewed publications, over 60 chapters, and several books. He is an extraordinary mentor. Dr. McManus has been widely appreciated for his research, mentoring, and leadership contributions to the health sciences. Amongst many awards and honors, Dr. McManus received the prestigious Max Planck Research Award in 1991, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2002, was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2018, and to the Order of British Columbia the following year. Joseph A. Hill, MD, PhD Dr. Hill is Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular Biology, Chief of Cardiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, and Director of the Harry S. Moss Heart Center. Dr. Hill holds both the James T. Willerson, MD, Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular Diseases, and the Frank M. Ryburn Jr. Chair in Heart Research. He graduated from Duke University with MD and PhD degrees in 1987. His PhD dissertation research was in the field of cardiac ion channel biophysics. Dr. Hill then worked for five years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institut Pasteur in Paris studying central and peripheral nicotinic receptors. He next completed an internal medicine internship and residency, as well as a clinical cardiology fellowship, at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He served on faculty at the University of Iowa for five years before moving in 2002 to the UT Southwestern. Dr. Hill’s research examines molecular mechanisms of structural, functional, metabolic, and electrophysiological remodeling in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. He has served on many NIH panels and committees and delivered numerous invited lectures in the U.S. and around the world. Dr. Hill has received many recognitions and awards, including election to the Association of American Professors and the 2018 Research Achievement Award from the International Society for Heart Research. For the past seven years, Dr. Hill has been the Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious American Heart Association journal Circulation. Advisors: Allan Klein, MD, CM Pericarditis Advisor Study Chair Director, Center for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pericardial Diseases, and Professor of Medicine, Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Klein is also Director of Cardiovascular Imaging Research, and a staff cardiologist in the Section of Cardiovascular Imaging, the Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, at the Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute. He is the Course Director for Diastology and Contrast Echo and New Technologies Courses—currently his 20th annual course. Dr. Klein was honored to serve as President of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) from June 2016 to June 2017. He is board-certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular medicine. Paul Cremer, MD Pericarditis Advisor Departments of Medicine and Radiology, Northwestern University, and Multimodality Cardiac Imaging and Clinical Trials Unit, Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. Dr. Cremer is a cardiologist and cardiovascular imager at Northwestern University where he is an Associate Professor in the departments of medicine and radiology. He serves as the Director of multimodality cardiac imaging and the Associate Director of the clinical trials unit at the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. Dr. Cremer earned a Bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from Princeton University, his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, and a masters degree in biostatistics from Case Western Reserve University. Following completion of his internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, he continued his postdoctoral training with a 3-year fellowship in cardiovascular medicine and a subsequent 2-year fellowship in advanced cardiovascular imaging, both at the Cleveland Clinic. His clinical and research interests include multimodality cardiovascular imaging and auto-inflammatory cardiovascular disease. He is a co-author of the book chapter Pericardial Diseases in Braunwald’s Heart Disease and is an associate editor for Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging. Allen Luis, MBBS, PhD Pericarditis Advisor Co-Director of the Pericardial Diseases Clinic, Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, at Mayo Clinic Rochester Minnesota. Dr. Luis is co-director of the Pericardial Diseases Clinic and a non-invasive imaging cardiologist at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota). He is a keen educator serving as the Associate Dean for Student and Faculty Affairs at the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences and as the Associate Chair for Education for the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases. He also serves as Medical Director for the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences Echocardiography and Advanced Cardiovascular Sonography Programs. He is a member of the American Journal of Cardiology Editorial Board. His key area of clinical and research interests is in the area of pericardial diseases, particularly recurrent pericarditis. Dor Lotan, MD Pericarditis Advisor Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and director of Columbia’s Center for Pericardial Diseases. Dr. Lotan earned his medical degree with honors from Semmelweis University and completed his internal medicine residency and cardiology training at Sheba Medical Center in Israel before pursuing advanced heart failure fellowship training at Columbia University. He joined Columbia as Assistant Professor of Cardiology in 2023. With extensive experience in complex heart failure management, including LVAD therapy, heart transplantation, pericarditis, myocarditis, and other complex inflammatory heart conditions, Dr. Lotan combines advanced clinical expertise with a strong commitment to academic medicine. He also serves in leadership roles related to patient education and disease advocacy, including on the board of directors of the Myocarditis Foundation. Antonio Abbate, MD, PhD Pericarditis Advisor Ruth C. Heede Professor of Cardiology, School of Medicine, and Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine – Heart and Vascular Center, University of Virginia. Dr. Abbate specializes in cardio-immunology and cardio-oncology, evaluating and treating people with heart inflammation (pericarditis and myocarditis), and those at risk for heart complications due to cancer treatment. His clinical interests and research focus on finding the causes and mechanisms of heart disease, understanding how inflammation affects the heart, determining the factors that make heart disease worse, and developing new treatments for heart diseases. Stefano Toldo, PhD Pericarditis Advisor Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Medicine at University of Virginia. Dr. Toldo is a Research Scientist in cardiac biology and physiology at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Toldo earned a Master’s in molecular biology from the University “La Sapienza” in Rome, Italy, and a doctoral degree in Molecular and Cellular Cardiology from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, Italy. He completed a 5-year postdoctoral fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University, in the Division of Cardiology, on the mechanisms linking myocardial injury to developing inflammatory processes in the heart. Dr. Toldo joined the faculty with the rank of Assistant Professor and later Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, at Virginia Commonwealth University. He continued working on the mechanisms linking inflammation and myocardial function, and injury in different settings, including myocardial infarction, heart failure, heart transplantation, and pericardial diseases. Dr. Toldo and his team have developed a mouse model of acute pericarditis. Stephen Nicholls, MBBS, PhD Pericarditis Advisor Program Director, Victorian Heart Hospital, Director, Monash Victorian Heart Institute, and Professor of Cardiology, Monash University, Melbourne. Professor Nicholls leads Australia’s first dedicated heart hospital and integrated research institute and is President of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. He is a world-renowned cardiologist, has written more than 1000 manuscripts, book chapters and conference proceedings, and has raised more than $160 million in research funding. Professor Nicholls’ research broadly focuses on developing new strategies to reduce the risk of heart disease, involving translational research spanning preclinical human and clinical trials. Tom Wang, MBChB, MD Pericarditis Advisor Multi-modality imaging cardiologist working at Auckland City Hospital, New Zealand after returning to his home country New Zealand in 2026. Prior to this, he was staff cardiologist and co-director of the Pericardial Diseases Center in the Section of Cardiovascular Imaging, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute of Cleveland Clinic, and Associate Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Wang’s clinical and research interests span pericardial disease, valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies, aortic disease, advanced multimodality imaging, cardiovascular procedures and clinical trials. Dr. Wang chaired the 2025 American College of Cardiology Concise Clinical Guidance document on pericarditis, served as vice chair for the 2024 international position statement on multimodality imaging and management of pericardial diseases, and co-authored the book chapter on Pericardial Diseases in Braunwald’s Heart Disease: Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. Mohamed Al-Kazaz, MD Pericarditis Advisor Cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute and Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He serves as section chief of General Cardiology, and he is the medical director of the Pericardial Disease clinic. Dr. Al-Kazaz earned his medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar in 2012 with academic distinction, followed by internal medicine residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital (Cornell Campus) and cardiovascular disease fellowship at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai where he was the chief fellow and faculty for 3 years before moving to Northwestern in Chicago. His clinical and research interests focus on pericardial disease and valvular heart disease, with a strong emphasis on clinical trials and new emerging therapeutic options, as well as multimodality imaging to guide diagnosis and management of these conditions. Dennis M. McNamara, MD ARCHER Steering Committee Chair Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also the Director of the Center for Heart Failure Research at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. McNamara received his undergraduate/graduate education at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, respectively. He completed his internship, residency, and cardiology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dr. McNamara’s current research interests include etiology and pathogenesis of dilated cardiomyopathies; inflammatory syndromes of cardiovascular disease; myocardial recovery in recent onset non- ischemic primary cardiomyopathy; etiology and management of peripartum cardiomyopathy; and genetic modulation of outcomes in cardiovascular disease. Leslie T. Cooper, Jr., MD ARCHER Steering Committee Co-Chair General cardiologist and the Chair of the Mayo Clinic Enterprise Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, as well as Chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Florida. Dr. Cooper’s clinical interests and research focus on clinical and translational studies of rare and undiagnosed cardiomyopathies, myocarditis, and inflammatory cardiac and vascular diseases, such as giant cell myocarditis, cardiac sarcoidosis, eosinophilic myocarditis, and Takayasu’s arteritis. He has published over 130 original peer- reviewed papers, as well as contributing to and editing books on myocarditis. In addition to his clinical and research work, Dr. Cooper is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Association, the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, and the Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology. He is also the founder and former president of the Myocarditis Foundation and continues to serve on its Board of Directors. Arvind Bhimaraj, MD ARCHER Steering Committee Specialist in Heart Failure and Transplantation Cardiology and is Assistant Professor of Cardiology, Institute for Academic Medicine, at Houston Methodist and at Weill Cornell Medical College, NYC. Dr. Bhimaraj has been Co-Director of the Heart Failure Research Laboratory at Houston Methodist since 2016. His area of focus is anti- fibrotic mechanisms and how to promote recovery of a damaged heart. Dr. Bhimaraj was a Heart Failure Fellow at the Cleveland Clinic from July 2010 to September 2011. Dr. Bhimaraj also specializes in Interventional Cardiology, is board certified in Cardiovascular Disease, and the author of numerous cardiovascular publications. Wai Hong Wilson Tang, MD ARCHER Steering Committee Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology specialist at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Tang is also the Director of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Clinical Genomics; Research Director, and staff cardiologist in the Section of Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation Medicine in the Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. He attended and graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1996, having over 23 years of diverse experience, especially in Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology. Dr. Tang is affiliated with many hospitals including the Cleveland Clinic and cooperates with other doctors and physicians in medical groups including The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Peter Liu, MD ARCHER Steering Committee Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President, Research, of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, and Professor of Medicine and Physiology at the University of Toronto and University of Ottawa. Dr. Liu was the former Scientific Director of the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the major federal funding agency for health research in Canada. Prior to that role, he was the inaugural Director of the Heart & Stroke/Lewar Centre of Excellence in Cardiovascular Research at University of Toronto. Dr. Liu received his MD from the University of Toronto, and postgraduate training at Harvard University. Dr. Liu’s laboratory investigates the causes and treatments of heart failure, the role of inflammation, and the identification of novel biomarkers and interventions in cardiovascular disease. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles in high impact journals and received numerous awards in recognition of his research and scientific accomplishments. Carsten Tschöpe, MD ARCHER Steering Committee Professor of Medicine and Cardiology. Vice Director of the Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology, Charité Hospital, Freie Universität Berlin. Dr. Tschöpe received his doctorate in medicine in 1993 and has over 140 peer – reviewed publications, including overview and book articles, and 120 international original articles. His research interests include inflammatory cardiomyopathy, diabetic cardiopathy, and ischemic cardiopathy. He also includes diastolic dysfunction, endothelial dysfunction, peptide systems, and experimental and clinical studies in cardiology and stem cells in his research studies. For his outstanding research work, Dr. Tschöpe was awarded the prestigious Arthur Weber Prize by the German Cardiac Society – Cardiovascular Research. Matthias Friedrich, MD ARCHER Steering Committee Full Professor with the Departments of Medicine and Diagnostic Radiology at the McGill University in Montreal and Chief, Cardiovascular Imaging at the McGill University Health Centre. He is also Professor of Medicine at Heidelberg University in Germany. Dr. Friedrich earned his MD at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. He completed his training as an internist and cardiologist at the Charité University Medicine Center, Humboldt University in Berlin. Dr. Friedrich founded one of the first large Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance centres in Germany at the Charité Hospital in Berlin. After his move to Canada, from 2004 to 2011, Dr. Friedrich was Director of the Stephenson Cardiovascular MR Centre at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta and Professor of Medicine within the Departments of Cardiac Sciences and Radiology at the University of Calgary, Canada. From 2011 to 2015, he directed the Philippa and Marvin Carsley Cardiovascular MR Centre at the Montreal Heart Institute and was Michel and Renata Hornstein Chair in Cardiac Imaging at the Université de Montréal. Edimar Bocchi, MD ARCHER Steering Committee Head of Heart Failure Clinics and Heart Failure Team at Heart Institute (Incor) of Hospital das Clinicas of São Paulo University Medical School, Associate Professor of São University Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil. Dr. Bocchi’s areas of clinical and research interest include heart failure, Chagas heart disease, cardio-oncology, heart transplantation, and exercise in heart failure. Dr. Bocchi is one of the founders of the Department of Heart Failure of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology. He is a pioneer in the development of heart transplantation in Chagasic cardiomyopathy; nitric oxide and phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors in heart failure. He is an author of more than 500 publications in peer-reviewed journals, contributed to 70 book chapters, and serves as the national coordinator for several randomized clinical trials, including the BELIEF, COMMANDER, SHIFT, RAD 2401, VICTORIA, DETERMINE, and EMPEROR Trials. Yaron Arbel, MD ARCHER Steering Committee Cardiologist and Director of the CardioVascular Research Center (CVRC) at the Tel Aviv “Sourasky” Medical Center. Dr. Arbel has been working as a researcher/advisor/medical director in various fields of medicine: Heart failure (Corassist- diastolic heart failure), interventional cardiology (Angioslide- preventing distal embolization), myocardial infarction (LBT-low level laser activation of bone marrow), medical informatics and wearables (CUBX- contactless hemodynamic assessment). Dr. Arbel graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Sackler School of Medicine at the Tel Aviv University. He completed his training in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the Tel Aviv medical center. He also completed a fellowship in interventional and structural cardiology at Sunnybrook medical Centre in Toronto, Canada. He has published over 130 articles and has initiated local, national and international studies. He is a reviewer/board member in over 40 journals. Mathieu Kerneis, MD, PhD ARCHER Steering Committee Interventional cardiologist at Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital (Sorbonne University) and Investigator of the ACTION Study Group. Dr. Kerneis was member of the PERFUSE Study Group, at the Beth Israel Medical Center, Harvard Medical School in Boston. His research themes cover coronary diseases, thrombosis and acute myocarditis. Dr. Kerneis was the principal investigator of the recently completed ARAMIS Study (Anakinra Versus Placebo for the Treatment of Acute Myocarditis).

Verified data last updated: 2026-06-29

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