Cardiol Therapeutics ( NASDAQ: CRDL ) said it will discontinue its LANCER trial of CardiolRx for COVID-19 and will prioritize its phase 2 programs of CardiolRx for two heart diseases.
CardiolRx is a pharmaceutically manufactured oral cannabidiol formulation.
The LANCER study was evaluating the cardioprotective properties of CardiolRx in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who have a prior history of, or risk factors for, cardiovascular disease, the company said in a press release on Tuesday.
Cardiol added that the trial will be discontinued due to continuous decline in the number of eligible patients, and a lower than expected event rate in the study.
The company noted that the factors include increase in vaccine-induced or natural immunity in the general population; predominant circulating variants causing milder disease; and an increase in the regulatory approval and usage of therapies for successfully treating mild-to-moderate disease in patients who previously would have progressed to require hospitalization.
Cardiol is advancing its phase 2 trial called ARCHER to evaluate CardiolRx in acute myocarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle (myocardium).
In addition, the company is undertaking a Phase 2 pilot study in recurrent pericarditis — swelling of the saclike tissue surrounding the heart (pericardium).
Cardiol noted that its cash runway now extends into 2026.
For further details see:
Cardiol to abandon COVID study of cannabis drug to focus on heart diseases trials