InCarda Therapeutics Appoints Dr. Luiz Belardinelli as Chief Medical Officer
San Francisco, California, April 5, 2016 – InCarda Therapeutics, Inc. (InCarda), a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies for cardiovascular conditions via the inhalation route, today announced that the company has appointed Luiz Belardinelli, M.D., to the position of Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Belardinelli joins InCarda for this position half-time and plans to also continue in his role at Gilead Sciences where he serves as a Senior Advisor for the Cardiovascular Therapeutic Area of Gilead. Previously Luiz was Senior Vice President for Cardiovascular Therapeutics for Gilead. He brings highly relevant cardiovascular experience having been a major contributor to the discovery and development of three cardiovascular products, Adenocard, Lexiscan and Ranexa.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Belardinelli join our team. As a recognized global expert in cardiac arrhythmias (such as atrial fibrillation) we will benefit from his preclinical and clinical knowledge and regulatory experience—both in the U.S. and abroad—as well as his vast network of colleagues in this space,” stated Grace E. Colon, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of InCarda. “Dr. Belardinelli joins us at an important time, as we are on track to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial in Q2 of this year to evaluate our inhaled formulation of flecainide for treatment of patients with recent onset paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.”
Dr. Belardinelli is currently Senior Advisor for the Cardiovascular Therapeutic Area of Gilead Sciences. He served as Senior Vice President for the Cardiovascular Therapeutics Area of Gilead from 2009 through 2015. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President for Clinical Research and Pharmacology, Translational Biomedical Research, and other positions at CV Therapeutics from 1999 until 2009, when the company was acquired by Gilead. Dr. Belardinelli received an M.D. degree from the Medical Catholic School of Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1975, and completed a four-year postdoctoral research fellowship in the Department of Physiology at the University of Virginia. Subsequent academic appointments included Assistant and Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Virginia (1980-1988), and Professor of Medicine, Cardiology and Pharmacology and Eminent Scholar of Cardiovascular Research, University of Florida (1988-1999). Dr. Belardinelli is a recognized expert in cardiac electrophysiology, adenosine physiology and pharmacology, and played a key role in the discovery and development and approval for human uses of Adenocard, Lexiscan and Ranexa. He holds several awards including “Inventor of the Year” by the Alumni Association of the University of Virginia. He has authored or co-authored 348 publications and is the co-editor of 3 books.
InCarda’s Lead Product for Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation (PAF)
Atrial fibrillation – the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia – is an abnormal heart rhythm that patients experience when the upper chambers of the heart (atria) beat irregularly and very fast. It is a major cause of stroke. Flecainide is commonly prescribed for restoring normal beating of the heart, and InCarda is evaluating an inhaled formulation of the drug for patients experiencing recent onset PAF.
About InCarda (www.incardatherapeutics.com)
InCarda Therapeutics, located in the San Francisco Bay Area with operations in Australia, is focused on transforming cardiovascular disease treatment through pulmonary delivery of established drugs. The company is product-focused with significant capabilities and led by a team with extensive experience in drug development. The lead product under development is an inhaled therapy intended to treat paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). InCarda is also working on additional research concepts that leverage the same platform technology to target the heart for acute cardiac conditions. The company’s approach is designed to reduce the risk normally associated with drug development. InCarda’s model is based on the following three tenets: known diseases, known drugs, new delivery.
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