Cardior Pharmaceuticals GmbH (Cardior) is a spin-off company from the Hannover Medical School. Headed by Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Thum (CSO) and Dr. Claudia Ulbrich (CEO), its aim is to develop new RNA-based therapeutics for the treatment and prevention of heart disease. The technology is based on research conducted by Professor Thum and the Institute of Molecular and Translational Therapeutic Strategies (IMTTS) of the Hannover Medical School. Fraunhofer ITEM accompanied Cardior in setting up a product development program during the fund-raising process, which was successfully completed in May 2017 by raising 15 million euros in a series-A round. Since then, Fraunhofer ITEM has conducted preclinical pharmacology and toxicology studies on Cardior’s first drug candidate and, in addition, is supporting the spin-off company with its regulatory expertise. This cooperation with Cardior is a good example showing how the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft can fulfill its mission of translating original ideas into innovations in cooperation with companies.