Cardiol Therapeutics’ CardioTX Shows Promising Results in Study

The TDR Three Key Takeaways for Cardiol Therapeutics:

1. The MAvERIC-Pilot study demonstrated that CardiolRx™ significantly reduces pain and inflammation in patients with recurrent pericarditis, offering a potential non-immunosuppressive treatment alternative.
2. CardiolRx™ was well-tolerated by patients, with most participants opting to continue treatment. This indicates its promise for long-term management of pericarditis symptoms.
3. Cardiol Therapeutics is debt-free, and positioned to achieve its development milestones through 2026, supporting the advancement of CardiolRx™ towards a Phase III trial.

Cardiol Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDL, TSX: CRDL),  a clinical-stage life sciences company based in Toronto, recently shared encouraging results from their Phase II MAvERIC-Pilot study. The study evaluated CardiolRx™, a cannabidiol oral solution, for treating recurrent pericarditis—a painful inflammation of the pericardium that can severely impact patients’ quality of life. CardiolRx™ aims to provide a new treatment option for this challenging condition by targeting the underlying inflammation.

Recurrent pericarditis is characterized by repeated episodes of chest pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath, often leading to hospitalizations and significant physical limitations. This study treated 27 patients diagnosed with recurrent pericarditis with CardiolRx™ over eight weeks. Results showed a significant reduction in pain, with average scores dropping from 5.8 to 2.1 on a scale from 0 to 10. This improvement is typically seen with more aggressive immunosuppressive therapies, highlighting the potential of CardiolRx™ as a non-immunosuppressive alternative.

Additionally, CardiolRx™ normalized inflammation in 80% of patients with elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels at the start of the study. CRP is a clinical marker of inflammation, and its reduction indicates a decrease in inflammatory activity. The study reported that CardiolRx™ was safe and well-tolerated, with 89% of participants opting to continue into an extended treatment phase to evaluate the drug’s long-term benefits further.

David Elsley, Cardiol Therapeutics’ President and Chief Executive Officer, expressed the company’s enthusiasm: “We are delighted to share the primary endpoint data from the MAvERIC-Pilot study, demonstrating that oral administration of our small molecule CardiolRx™ led to marked reductions in pericarditis pain and inflammation, which were remarkably comparable in magnitude to the changes reported following immunosuppressive biologic therapy commonly used in third-line treatment of recurrent pericarditis. Based on the clinically meaningful impact of CardiolRx™ on the key symptom of this debilitating disease, we now anticipate that the totality of the MAvERIC-Pilot data will support advancing to a Phase III trial of CardiolRx™ designed to meet our objective of providing a more accessible and non-immunosuppressive-therapy-option-for-thousands-of-pericarditis patients.”

The findings from the MAvERIC-Pilot study are significant because they suggest that CardiolRx™ could offer an effective and safer alternative to current treatments for recurrent pericarditis. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted CardiolRx™ orphan drug designation for this indication, which may help speed up its development and approval process. 

Cardiol Therapeutics plans to move forward with a Phase III trial to confirm these promising results and bring CardiolRx™ closer to becoming a viable treatment option for patients suffering from recurrent pericarditis. This marks an important step in the company’s mission to develop innovative therapies for heart disease. The company operates debt-free and is capitalized to achieve its corporate milestones through 2026. Want to be updated on Cannabis, AI, Small Cap, and Crypto? Subscribe to our Daily Baked in Newsletter!