Cardiol Therapeutics Reports Promising Phase II Data for CardiolRx in Acute Myocarditis

Cardiol Therapeutics said its CardiolRx™ oral cannabidiol solution showed encouraging signs of efficacy in the Phase II ARCHER study involving 109 acute-myocarditis patients treated for 12 weeks. The drug reduced left-ventricular extracellular volume compared with placebo (p = 0.0538) and achieved a statistically significant decline in left-ventricular mass, while multiple cardiac-MRI endpoints moved in the drug’s favour. Investigators reported no new safety issues, and the tolerability profile was consistent with prior studies of CardiolRx. The company argues the data provide clinical proof-of-concept for targeting myocardial inflammation and fibrosis, conditions for which no FDA-approved therapies currently exist. Cardiol plans to fold the findings into its development strategy, which includes the ongoing Phase III MAVERIC trial in recurrent pericarditis and pre-clinical work on the subcutaneous candidate CRD-38 for heart failure. Full ARCHER results have been submitted for scientific presentation and publication.