Cardurion lures ex-Takeda R&D head as CMO

US clinical-stage biotech Cardurion Pharmaceuticals has appointed Dr Chris Morabito as chief medical officer (CMO).

Dr Morabito joins Cardurion from Takeda Pharmaceuticals (TYO: 4502), where he most recently served as senior vice president and head, research and development (R&D), plasma-derived therapies, and where he previously served as vice president and global program leader, specialty cardiovascular (CV) disease. In 2017, Cardurion entered into a research collaboration with Takeda.

"We are thrilled that Chris is bringing to Cardurion his strong industry and operational leadership at a time when our lead program in heart failure is advancing in the clinic and our pipeline is maturing,” said Peter Lawrence, chief executive of Cardurion. “Chris has a deep background in cardiovascular drug development from his time at Takeda, Sanofi and Merck, as well as broad experience and skills in leading large groups and an array of mission critical projects. His vision and leadership will be essential to our ongoing work to bring transformative therapies to people with cardiovascular diseases."