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Thomas Thum

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Thomas Thum (born 16 November 1974 in Hildesheim)[1] is a German cardiologist, scientist and entrepreneur who specialises in the pathophysiological role of ribonucleic acid (RNA), organ fibrosis and cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.

Academic career

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Thum studied medicine at Hannover Medical School from 1994 to 2001. He also obtained his doctorate there in 2001. He then completed a second doctorate at the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London under Philip Poole-Wilson.[1]

In 2009, he became head of the Institut für Molekulare und Translationale Therapiestrategien (Institute for Molecular and Translational Therapy Strategies, IMTTS) at Hannover Medical School, where he also holds a professorship. Since 2013, he has been a visiting professor at Imperial College London's National Heart and Lung Institute. From 2021 to 2023, he headed the Fraunhofer-Institut für Toxikologie und Experimentelle Medizin (Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine, ITEM) in Hanover.[2]

Thum's scientific work focuses mainly on the development of RNA-based therapeutics for cardiovascular diseases. He has published over 500 scientific articles (as of April 2025))[3] and filed over 45 patents, several of which are in clinical development (as of April 2021).[4]

Business activities

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In 2016, Thum founded Cardior Pharmaceuticals GmbH, a biotechnology company focussing on RNA-based therapeutics for heart failure.[5] Under his leadership, it raised around 80 million euros in several rounds of financing[6] and conducted the world's first studies with an oligonucleotide-based microRNA therapy in patients with heart failure.[7][8][9][10] In May 2024, Novo Nordisk acquired Cardior Pharmaceuticals for more than 1 billion euro.[11][6]

Research contributions and impact

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Thum ″is recognised as one of the leading experts in the study of RNA molecules and their role in cardiovascular disease.″[12] He is considered the author of important studies on oligonucleotide-based therapies, particularly with regard to the targeted treatment of cardiac fibrosis with microRNA-21 inhibitors.[13] His team also identified the miRNA-212/132 cluster, which plays a key role in cardiomegaly and autophagy, thus enabling potential therapeutic applications in heart failure.[14]

Thum's recent research has focused on cardiovascular long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs), which have potential as diagnostic and prognostic markers and as customised therapeutic targets for heart disease and other conditions.[15]

Awards and honours

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Over the course of his career, Thum has received numerous prestigious awards, including the 2021 Paul Martini Prize, the 2022 Desmond Julian Prize and the 2014 Sir Hans Krebs Prize.[16]

Writings (selection)

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  • Täubel J; Hauke W; Thum T; et al. (2021), "Novel antisense therapy targeting microRNA-132 in patients with heart failure: results of a first-in-human Phase 1b randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study", European Heart Journal, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 178–188, doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa898, PMC 7954267, PMID 33245749
  • Foinquinos A; Batkai S; Thum T; et al. (2020), "Preclinical development of a miR-132 inhibitor for heart failure treatment", Nature Communications, vol. 11, no. 11, p. 633, Bibcode:2020NatCo..11..633F, doi:10.1038/s41467-020-14349-2, PMC 6994493, PMID 32005803
  • Viereck J; Bührke A; Thum T; et al. (2020), "Targeting muscle-enriched long non-coding RNA H19 reverses pathological cardiac hypertrophy", European Heart Journal, vol. 41, no. 36, pp. 3462–3474, doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa519, PMC 8482849, PMID 32657324
  • Schimmel K; Jung M; Thum T; et al. (2020), "Natural Compound Library Screening Identifies New Molecules for the Treatment of Cardiac Fibrosis and Diastolic Dysfunction", Circulation, vol. 141, no. 9, pp. 751–767, doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.042559, PMC 7050799, PMID 31948273
  • Kreutzer FP; Meinecke A; Thum T; et al. (2022), "Development and characterization of anti-fibrotic natural compound similars with improved effectivity", Basic Research in Cardiology, vol. 117, no. 117, p. 9, doi:10.1007/s00395-022-00919-6, PMC 8891108, PMID 35235052
  • Piccoli M-T; Gupta SK; Thum T; et al. (2017), "Inhibition of the Cardiac Fibroblast-Enriched lncRNA Meg3 Prevents Cardiac Fibrosis and Diastolic Dysfunction", Circulation Research, vol. 121, no. 5, pp. 575–583, doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.117.310624, PMID 28630135
  • Viereck J; Kumarswamy R; Thum T; et al. (2016), "Long noncoding RNA Chast promotes cardiac remodeling", Science Translational Medicine, vol. 8, no. 326, pp. 326ra22, doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aaf1475, PMID 26888430
  • Ucar A; Gupta SK; Thum T; et al. (2012), "The miRNA-212/132 family regulates both cardiac hypertrophy and cardiomyocyte autophagy", Nature Communications, vol. 3, no. 3, p. 1078, Bibcode:2012NatCo...3.1078U, doi:10.1038/ncomms2090, PMC 3657998, PMID 23011132
  • Ucar A; Vafaizadeh V; Thum T; et al. (2010), "miR-212 and miR-132 are required for epithelial stromal interactions necessary for mouse mammary gland development", Nature Genetics, vol. 42, no. 12, pp. 1101–1108, doi:10.1038/ng.709, PMID 21057503
  • Thum T; Gross C; Fiedler J; et al. (2008), "MicroRNA-21 contributes to myocardial disease by stimulating MAP kinase signalling in fibroblasts", Nature, vol. 456, no. 7224, pp. 980–984, Bibcode:2008Natur.456..980T, doi:10.1038/nature07511, PMID 19043405

References

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  1. ^ a b "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). mhh.de. Medizinische Hochschule Hannover. 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  2. ^ "Nachfolge von Prof. Thomas Thum in der Institutsleitung des Fraunhofer ITEM in Verbindung mit Neubesetzung des Lehrstuhls für Toxikologie an der MHH". item.fraunhofer.de (in German). 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  3. ^ Information on Thomas Thum on the website of the ″XXV World Congress International Society for Heart Research″ 2025 in Japan. Retrieved on 3 April 2025.
  4. ^ "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). paul-martini-stiftung.de. Paul-Martini-Stiftung. 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  5. ^ Siegfried Hofmann (2021-08-25). "Hoffnung auf RNA-Wirkstoffe – Frische Millionen für eine neue Herzmedizin". Handelsblatt (in German). Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  6. ^ a b Oliver Stock (2024-03-24). "Das wertvollste Unternehmen Europas krallt sich das wertvollste Startup Deutschlands". Business Punk (in German). Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  7. ^ Täubel, J; Hauke, W Thum T; et al. (2021), "Novel antisense therapy targeting microRNA-132 in patients with heart failure: results of a first-in-human Phase 1b randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study", European Heart Journal, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 178–188, doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa898, PMC 7954267, PMID 33245749
  8. ^ Bauersachs J; Solomon S D; Anker S D; Thum T; et al. (2024), "Efficacy and safety of CDR132L in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction after myocardial infarction: Rationale and design of the HF-REVERT trial", European Journal of Heart Failure, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 674–682, doi:10.1002/ejhf.3139, PMID 38269451
  9. ^ "Clinical Study to Assess Safety, PK and PD Parameters of CDR132L". clinicaltrials.gov. 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
  10. ^ "Study to Assess Efficacy and Safety of CDR132L in Patients With Reduced Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction After Myocardial Infarction (HF-REVERT)". clinicaltrials.gov. 2025-04-03. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
  11. ^ Ian Johnston: Novo Nordisk strikes €1bn heart therapies deal. Financial Times, 26 March 2024, p. 9.
  12. ^ Maike Telgheder; Theresa Rauffmann (2024-03-25). "Europas wertvollstes Unternehmen kauft deutsche Firma". Handelsblatt (in German). Retrieved 2025-04-03. gilt als einer der führenden Experten in der Erforschung von RNA-Molekülen und ihrer Rolle im Bereich von Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen
  13. ^ Jes-Niels Boeckel (2024-10-09). "Nobelpreis für Medizin 2024: Bedeutung der microRNAs in der kardiovaskulären Medizin". herzmedizin.de. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kardiologie – Herz- und Kreislaufforschung. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  14. ^ Ahmet Ucar; Shashi K. Gupta; Jan Fiedler; et al. (2012-09-25), "The miRNA-212/132 family regulates both cardiac hypertrophy and cardiomyocyte autophagy", Nature Communications, vol. 3, p. 1078, Bibcode:2012NatCo...3.1078U, doi:10.1038/ncomms2090, PMC 3657998, PMID 23011132
  15. ^ "Förderung für die Herz-Forschung an der Medizinischen Hochschule". hannover.de. 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  16. ^ "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). dzl.de. Deutsches Zentrum für Lungenforschung. 2024-09-15. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
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