Acute Severe Hypertension

There is an urgent need for acute severe hypertension disease control, a common medical emergency hiding in plain sight.

Acute severe hypertension (ASH) is a sudden and severe spike in blood pressure (SBP ≥ 180 mmHg and/or DBP ≥ 110 mmHg) requiring immediate attention to prevent heart attack, stroke, or damage to other organs and often resulting in hospitalization and organ failure. While many people who develop ASH have underlying chronic resistant or uncontrolled hypertension, the near-term risk associated with this acute event is underappreciated and rarely studied as a separate disease condition.

There are currently no treatments indicated for ASH and if left untreated, ASH can lead to end organ damage. Angiotensinogen (AGT), primarily produced by the liver, is the key pathway in blood pressure regulation. Genetic studies have shown that people with AGT gene variants have an increased risk of ASH.

Watch the video below to learn more about the unmet needs for ASH patients:

NOTE: This video is for educational and scientific purposes only. Intended for U.S. audiences only.

Tonlamarsen for ASH

Tonlamarsen is an investigational antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) targeting hepatic angiotensinogen (AGT) being evaluated for the management of blood pressure in patients with acute severe hypertension (ASH).

AGT sits at the top of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), the main pathway in blood pressure regulation
Tonlamarsen is an investigational ASO that targets hepatic AGT mRNA and is designed to deliver balanced reductions in AGT levels
Reductions in AGT modulate the RAAS at its most upstream point and are associated with reduced blood pressure

This is an investigational compound under clinical study. Safety and efficacy have not been proven yet.

Kardigan is developing tonlamarsen as an angiotensinogen-targeted bridging therapy to interrupt the dangerous cycle of ASH, with the potential to be a first-in-class therapy to lower blood pressure in people with hypertension with elevated AGT and reduce the risk of organ damage, heart failure, and other serious cardiovascular events. Phase 2 data showed a clear response to tonlamarsen, with decreases of both AGT levels and systolic blood pressure (on average) in people with high levels of AGT.

Learn more about clinical trials for tonlamarsen.

Kardigan in-licensed exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to tonlamarsen, an investigational drug discovered and developed by Ionis.