Category: Press release

Revier Therapeutics Launches with €6 Million Seed Financing to Pioneer Class IIa HDAC Inhibitors for Cardiometabolic Disease

Close-up of a hand pouring white pills from a blue bottle into another person's open hand.

Heidelberg, Germany, August 25, 2026 – Revier Therapeutics (“Revier” or “the Company”), today announced the closing of a EUR 6 million seed financing and the launch of its operations. The Company has established the first therapeutic approach to selectively target class IIa histone deacetylases (HDACs) for the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases. The financing was led […]

Prof. Dr. med. Johannes Backs

Scientific founder

Johannes is a cardiovascular scientist whose discoveries have advanced our understanding of cardiobiology and led to new therapeutic concepts for cardiogenetic and cardiometabolic disease. Over the past two decades, his research has uncovered fundamental mechanisms linking epigenetics, metabolic stress, inflammation to CaM Kinase II and HDAC signaling as causes for cardiac dysfunction. Johannes is the Director of the Institute of Experimental Cardiology at Heidelberg University, professor of the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Director (interim) of the Helmholtz Institute for Translational AngioCardioScience (HI-TAC) and Spokesperson of the Collaborative Research Center „Molecular Circuits of Heart Disease“ (CRC1550).

He holds an MD in Medicine from Heidelberg University.

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Prof. Dr. med. Norbert Frey

Co-founder & Chief Medical Officer

Norbert is a physician-scientist and clinical cardiologist with extensive experience in cardiovascular medicine and translational research. From 2008 to 2020, he served as Professor and Medical Director at the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (Kiel). Since 2020, he has been Professor and Medical Director of the Department of Cardiology, Angiology and Pneumology at the Heidelberg University Hospital. He is also President-elect of the German Cardiac Society (DGK). His research focuses on the molecular basis of cardiomyopathies and heart failure and on translating these insights into improved therapies for cardiovascular disease. He has initiated and participated in numerous clinical trials.

He holds an MD in Medicine/Pharmacology from the University of Kiel.

Dr. med. Matthias Dewenter

Co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer

Matthias is a physician-scientist with extensive experience in translational cardiovascular research. He serves as the Head of the Preclinical In Vivo Model Core at the Institute of Experimental Cardiology, Heidelberg University Hospital, where he has contributed to the discovery and preclinical development of novel experimental approaches for heart failure and cardiometabolic disease over the past decade. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying heart failure, cardiac metabolism, and cardiometabolic disease, with the goal of translating biological insights into new therapeutic strategies.

He holds an MD in Medicine/Pharmacology from the University of Goettingen.

Dr. Mike Nolan

Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer

Mike is an experienced biotechnology executive with more than 20 years of drug discovery and company-building experience. He served as the VP of Biology at Valence Discovery when it was acquired by Recursion. Between 2018 and 2023, he was Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Atlas Venture, where he co-founded Quench Bio and led its biology and early drug discovery efforts, then built industrialized proteomics as a founding-stage team member at Matchpoint. Earlier in his career, he held scientific leadership positions at GSK, Tempero Pharmaceuticals, Ascent Therapeutics and Wyeth, advancing therapeutics across inflammation, immunology, oncology and fertility indications.

He holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Washington.

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Prof. Dr. Eva van Rooij

CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Eva is a serial entrepreneur bringing extensive experience at the intersection of biotechnology development, drug discovery, and cardiovascular translational research to Revier. Her pioneering work on cardiac microRNAs contributed to the scientific foundation of miRagen Therapeutics, one of the first companies developing microRNA-based medicines for cardiovascular disease, and subsequently to the founding of Phlox Therapeutics. Eva is Professor of Molecular Cardiology at University Medical Center Utrecht and a Group Leader at the Hubrecht Institute, where her research aims to identify signaling pathways that drive cardiac remodeling and repair and to translate these discoveries into new therapeutic strategies.

She holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Maastricht University.

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Allosteric inhibition

Discovery Program

Our earliest-stage drug discovery programs are focused on isoform selectivity within the class IIa HDACs, with the goal of advancing additional first-in-class assets for cardiometabolic diseases and beyond.

Enzymatic inhibition

RvTx-002 — ASCVD

Our second asset is a class IIa HDAC inhibitor optimized to selectively target disease-driving mechanisms and maximize therapeutic benefit in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

Enzymatic inhibition

RvTx-001 — HFpEF

Our lead class IIa HDAC inhibitor selectively targets enzymatic activity to address the underlying drivers of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Preclinical studies show our lead inhibitor reverses diastolic dysfunction and restores exercise capacity to healthy levels in vivo.