Toronto, Ontario — February 10, 2026 — Leads & Copy —
Cardiol Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDL) (TSX: CRDL) has announced the publication of results from its Phase II ARCHER study in ESC Heart Failure, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology. The peer-reviewed article details findings from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial assessing CardiolRx™, the company’s primary oral drug candidate, in 109 patients with acute myocarditis, utilizing advanced cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging to measure myocardial inflammation and remodelling.
The study revealed that treatment with CardiolRx™ led to a significant reduction in left ventricular mass compared to placebo (-9.2 g; p=0.0117), along with a decrease in left atrial remodelling and favorable trends across multiple markers of myocardial inflammation. The company reported CardiolRx was shown to be safe and well tolerated. Reduction in left ventricular mass is widely considered consistent with decreased myocardial edema and inflammatory burden in myocarditis and improved clinical outcomes.
According to the press release, the biological signals observed in ARCHER are directly relevant to Cardiol’s ongoing pivotal Phase III MAVERIC trial in recurrent pericarditis. Myocarditis and pericarditis are inflammatory diseases of the myocardium and pericardium, respectively, and are recognized to fall within the spectrum of inflammatory myopericardial syndrome, an umbrella term describing the potential myocarditis-pericarditis overlap: similar causes, anatomical contiguous structures, and mixed forms with possible reciprocal involvement, such as myopericarditis and perimyocarditis.
David Elsley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cardiol Therapeutics, stated that the publication marks an important moment in the broader dissemination of CardiolRx’s therapeutic potential. He added that ARCHER provides additional compelling clinical evidence that CardiolRx impacts the underlying biology of inflammatory heart disease and reduces inflammation-driven structural damage in the heart, increasing their confidence in MAVERIC, which is focused on delivering meaningful outcomes for patients with recurrent pericarditis.
Cardiol Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDL) (TSX: CRDL) is a late-stage life sciences company focused on advancing the development of anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic therapies for heart disease. The company’s lead small-molecule drug candidate, CardiolRx™, modulates inflammasome pathway activation, an intracellular process known to play an important role in the development and progression of inflammation and fibrosis associated with pericarditis, myocarditis, and heart failure.
The MAVERIC Program is evaluating CardiolRx™ for the treatment of recurrent pericarditis, an inflammatory disease of the pericardium associated with symptoms including debilitating chest pain, shortness of breath, and fatigue, which can lead to physical limitations, reduced quality of life, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations. The program comprises the completed Phase II MAvERIC-Pilot study (NCT05494788) and the ongoing pivotal Phase III MAVERIC trial (NCT06708299). The U.S. FDA has granted Orphan Drug Designation to CardiolRx™ for the treatment of pericarditis, including recurrent pericarditis.
The ARCHER Program is also studying CardiolRx™, specifically in acute myocarditis-an important cause of acute and fulminant heart failure in young adults and a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in individuals under 35 years of age. The program comprises the completed Phase II ARCHER study (NCT05180240), which evaluated the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of CardiolRx™ in this patient population.
The Company is also developing CRD-38, a novel, subcutaneously administered drug formulation intended for the treatment of inflammatory heart disease, including heart failure-a leading cause of death and hospitalization in the developed world, with associated healthcare costs in the United States exceeding US$30 billion per year.
The full paper is available at: https://academic.oup.com/eschf/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eschf/xvaf034/8427108
Source: Cardiol Therapeutics
