Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a leading early-stage biotechnology company developing an integrated and sustainable gene therapy pipeline for rare pediatric diseases with high unmet needs, today announces that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Renovacor, Inc. a biotechnology company focused on delivering innovative therapies to improve the lives of patients and families battling genetic and mechanistic heart diseases. Under the terms of the merger agreement entered into on September 19, 2022, Renovacor stockholders received, for each share of Renovacor common stock, 0.1763 shares of Rocket common stock.
The acquisition provides Rocket with Renovacor’s lead program, REN-001, an AAV-based gene therapy targeting BAG3-related dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a severe form of heart failure. BAG3-DCM represents an unmet medical need in the patient population with rapidly progressive heart failure in which no therapies targeting the disease process are available. In addition, Rocket gains access to world-class scientific partners, a strong portfolio of intellectual property, and skilled workers in BAG3-DCM. Together, these resources and capabilities further expand Rocket’s leadership position in AAV-based cardiac gene therapy and help advance the Company’s mission to find gene therapies for patients living with rare and devastating diseases.
About Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. promotes an integrated and robust pipeline of investigational gene therapies designed to address the underlying cause of complex and rare disorders in children. The Company’s platform-agnostic approach enables it to develop the best treatment for each indication, creating potentially transformative options for patients affected by rare genetic diseases. Rocket’s clinical programs using lentiviral vector (LVV)-based gene therapy are for the treatment of Fanconi Anemia (FA), a difficult-to-treat disease that causes bone marrow failure and cancer, Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-I (LAD-I), an important a childhood disease that causes frequent and often fatal infections, and Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PKD), a rare, monogenic red blood cell disease that causes increased red cell destruction and susceptibility to life-threatening anemia. Rocket’s first clinical program using adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapy is for Danon Disease, a devastating heart failure disease in children. Rocket also has a preclinical AAV-based gene therapy program in BAG3-related dilated cardiomyopathy.