BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cardurion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Cardurion), a Boston-based, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing next-generation therapeutics for the treatment of heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases, today announced the appointment of Peter S. Lawrence as president and chief executive officer. Mr. Lawrence joins Cardurion after serving for almost 14 years as president and chief operating officer of ArQule, Inc., which was successfully sold to Merck in January 2020 for $2.7 billion. Mr. Lawrence succeeds Michael E. Mendelsohn, M.D., founder and interim CEO of Cardurion, who will continue in his role as chairman of Cardurion’s Board of Directors.
“Pete’s demonstrated success as a skilled and experienced biotechnology leader will be a tremendous asset to Cardurion as we progress our preclinical and clinical-stage pipeline of cardiovascular drug candidates into later-stage clinical development and ultimately to market,” said Dr. Mendelsohn. “His leadership will be critical to guiding Cardurion as we realize our long-term vision to bring life-changing new therapies to patients with heart disease.”
Mr. Lawrence brings more than 20 years of experience as a life sciences executive and investor with a track record of company building, deal making and operational leadership. In addition to his strategic role as president of ArQule, Mr. Lawrence oversaw the company’s R&D and manufacturing operations as well as its corporate and business development, new product planning, IT, legal and IP functions. Concurrently, he served as principal financial officer for ArQule and in that role helped raise over $350 million through six public financings. Additionally, Mr. Lawrence facilitated collaborations with ArQule’s pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, overseeing partnerships with a total value in excess of $1 billion and providing the company hundreds of millions of dollars in milestone payments and development support. Before joining ArQule, Mr. Lawrence was a founder and general partner of Pod Venture Partners and previously was a corporate law equity partner at Mintz Levin. He holds a degree in history and Russian studies from Amherst College and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law.
“The Cardurion team is applying its deep cardiovascular expertise, strong drug discovery and clinical development backgrounds and an extensive industry and academic network to acquire and discover novel drug candidates to address cardiovascular disease,” said Mr. Lawrence. “I am excited about the opportunity to lead this talented team as we progress our most advanced clinical program into later-stage clinical testing in both forms of heart failure, while also bringing forward our preclinical pipeline of novel cardiovascular medicines.”
About Cardurion Pharmaceuticals
Cardurion Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel, next-generation therapeutics for the treatment of heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases. Built by a team of physician-scientists and industry experts with extensive experience in cardiovascular science, medicine and drug development, Cardurion Pharmaceuticals is pursuing unique drug discovery and development programs to target major unmet needs in cardiology. Cardurion Pharmaceuticals has facilities in Boston, Massachusetts and Shonan, Japan. For more information, please visit the company’s website at http://www.cardurion.com.
Contacts
Media Contact
Gwen Schanker
Ten Bridge Communications
gwen@tenbridgecommunications.com
269-921-3607