Heidelberg biotech Revier Therapeutics launches with €6 million to develop cardiometabolic treatments
German biotech startup Revier Therapeutics has officially launched, closing a €6 million seed round to develop new therapies for cardiometabolic disease. The round was led by KHAN Technology Transfer Fund II.
Heidelberg-based biotech company Revier Therapeutics has announced its official launch alongside the closing of a €6 million seed financing round. The company focuses on developing therapies that target the underlying biological drivers of cardiometabolic disease.
The funding round was led by KHAN Technology Transfer Fund II, with additional participation from High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), VORNvc, and private investors channeled through Revier Invest Heidelberg.
A new approach to HDAC inhibition
Co-founder and CEO Prof. Eva van Rooij noted that despite advances in cardiovascular medicine, patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) still lack sufficiently targeted treatment options.
Revier Therapeutics has developed what it describes as the first therapeutic approach to selectively target class IIa histone deacetylases (HDACs) — enzymes implicated in a range of severe diseases. Its orally administered small-molecule compounds are designed to block only the disease-driving enzymatic activity, while preserving normal biological function and avoiding the broader, so-called canonical HDAC inhibition seen in earlier drugs of this type.
Scientific founder Prof. Johannes Backs explained that first-generation HDAC inhibitors acted across multiple HDAC classes at once, leading to dose-limiting side effects. Revier's compounds, by contrast, selectively target class IIa HDACs while preserving the essential functions of both class IIa and class I HDACs, aiming for a more favourable safety profile.
Use of the funds
The seed round also drew support from a coalition of regional backers organised by business developer Daniel Stern, founder of Revier Invest Heidelberg. Michael Hamacher, Managing Partner and CFO at KHAN Technology Transfer Fund II, expressed confidence that the company's approach could help reshape standard care for patients with these conditions.
The new capital will fund the company's preclinical pipeline, including its lead HFpEF programme and a second programme targeting ASCVD, as well as the expansion of its operational, scientific and clinical teams.
