CRI Biotech, Inc.

Cardiac Rsk3 Inhibitors LLC is a for-profit limited liability company registered in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) to receive federal grants and contracts. It appears to be focused on developing gene therapies and other therapeutics targeting signaling pathways involved in pathological cardiac remodeling and heart failure.

Through several multi-million dollar Project Grants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) under programs like Cardiovascular Diseases Research (CFDA 93.837), Cardiac Rsk3 Inhibitors LLC has conducted research on novel gene therapies for treating heart failure. One major project involved testing an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector called AAV9SC.RBD that disrupts interactions between the RSK3 protein kinase and its scaffolding protein to inhibit pathological cardiac remodeling. This therapy was evaluated for efficacy in preventing heart failure after myocardial infarction in swine models of ischemic cardiomyopathy. Another project focused on developing an AAV9 vector to block interactions between protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) and the scaffold protein MAKAP??, which regulate pathways leading to ventricular dilation in heart failure. Molecular, cellular, and functional analyses were performed to demonstrate therapeutic benefits. The awarded NHLBI grants provided several million dollars in funding to support this preclinical research on Cardiac Rsk3 Inhibitors' proprietary biologic candidates for heart disease indications.