Press Release

Draupnir Bio establishes Scientific Advisory Board of European experts in cholesterol metabolism and cardiovascular disease

Copenhagen, Denmark, 23 September 2021 – Draupnir Bio (“Draupnir”), a biotechnology company developing small molecule modulators of PCSK9 to transform the treatment of heart disease, today announces the establishment of its scientific advisory board (SAB) comprising global leaders in carbohydrate chemistry, the regulation and genetics of cholesterol metabolism, and in drug development for the treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The newly formed SAB will advise Draupnir on its current and future research and development strategy as the Company builds its preclinical pipeline and advances the development of novel therapeutics for CVD. Draupnir is pursuing the development of small molecule therapeutics to transform the treatment of heart disease, based on proprietary structural insights and the biology of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin Kexin Type 9 (PCSK9), a protein that enables a key step in the control of blood low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) levels.

CVD and coronary artery disease (CAD) remain the leading causes of deaths globally. While statins have proven to be a highly effective standard of care for CVD and CAD for decades, and the more recently available injectable anti-PCSK9 therapeutic mAbs and PCSK9 siRNA provide additional treatment options, there remains a need for easily accessible, orally available therapeutics for LDLC lowering in broad patient segments.

The SAB will comprise the following members:

Anne Tybjærg Hansen, MD, is Professor of Clinical Biochemistry with a focus on translational molecular cardiology at the University of Copenhagen and is Chief Physician in the Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Rigshospitalet, Denmark. She is a member of the steering committees of the Copenhagen City Heart Study and the Copenhagen General Population Study. Prof. Tybjærg-Hansen’s research has focused on the genetics and genomics of CVD and related diseases in large prospective studies of the general population. Recent focus areas include Mendelian randomisation, polygenic risk scores for dyslipidaemia and CAD, and amyloidosis and amyloidosis-related heart disease and other diseases.

Jay Horton, MD, is Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular Genetics, and Director of the Center for Human Nutrition, UT Southwestern, Dallas, Texas, US, and holds the Distinguished Chair in Human Nutrition, the Scott Grundy Director’s Chair, and the Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Chair in Obesity and Diabetes Research. He serves as a consulting editor for Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology and as an associate editor of The Journal of Lipid Research. Dr. Horton’s research has delineated the function of PCSK9 and is currently focussed on clinical digestive diseases and fat metabolism.