Kardigan, a cardiovascular drugmaker backed by prominent life sciences investors, on Tuesday disclosed plans to go public.
Founded in 2023, the biotechnology startup is trying to develop therapies that target the root causes of diseases with no approved treatments. The mission is fitting, as Kardigan was created by former executives of MyoKardia, a fellow California-based biotech that sold to Bristol Myers Squibb for just north of $13 billion. MyoKardia discovered a first-of-its-kind heart medication, Camzyos, which has since become a blockbuster product.
According to newly filed federal documents, Kardigan had raised almost $570 million as of March 31. The sum grew significantly last fall, with the close of a $254 million Series B funding round. The company’s investors include Perceptive Advisors, ARCH Venture Partners, Sequoia Heritage, Fidelity Management & Research Company and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Investment Management.
Kardigan’s main assets are three in-licensed drugs that have progressed to the middle or late stages of human testing.
The first, called danicamtiv, came from Bristol Myers. It’s meant to have a similar-but-opposite effect as Camzyos, strengthening the heart muscle by activating a protein, “cardiac myosin,” that’s essential for contractions. Kardigan is evaluating danicamtiv in a Phase 2b/3 study focused on genetically driven “dilated cardiomyopathy,” a disease that weakens the heart and keeps it from pumping adequate amounts of oxygenated blood through the body.
The second drug, tonlamarsen, essentially marks for disposal the genetic instructions for a protein that gives rise to a blood pressure-increasing hormone. Kardigan gained access to the drug through a deal with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, which specializes in these so-called antisense oligonucleotide therapies. A Phase 2b trial assessing tonlamarsen as a potential treatment for certain cases where blood pressure dramatically spikes without warning.
Finally, another mid-stage study is looking at whether an experimental medicine known as ataciguat can help patients with a common condition where an accumulation of calcium deposits restricts blood flow from the heart. It was previously developed by Sanofi and Mayo Clinic.
In its filing, Kardigan noted how cardiovascular disease is “the leading cause of death worldwide, yet innovation has lagged due to drug development focused on broad, downstream, symptom-focused approaches” as well as clinical trials that are dependent on “infrequent in-office measurements.”
By contrast, the company says its studies employ “near real-time continuous data collection” along with smaller enrollments and quicker turnarounds than “traditional cardiovascular outcomes trials.” The ultimate goal is faster, more cost-effective experiments with a “higher probability of success.”
Running multiple mid- to late-stage studies is often an expensive endeavor nonetheless. Kardigan’s research and development costs surged 80% last year, to $153 million. The company’s net loss from operations also more than doubled in 2025, to nearly $202 million.
An intiial public offering could therefore bring a welcome cash infusion.
Kardigan’s disclosure comes amid a modest uptick in biotech IPOs, with this year’s tally of 11 already matching to the overall total seen in 2025. Those market debuts also suggest investors are far more interested in companies that have “derisked” key programs by having in hand compelling data from human trials.
Nearly all of this year’s IPO class have drugs in Phase 2 or 3 testing, and raised $250 million or more through their offerings.
