Thomas Thum

Thomas Thum (born 16 November 1974 in Hildesheim) 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 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.

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) and filed over 45 patents, several of which are in clinical development (as of April 2021).

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

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.

Awards and honours 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.

Writings (selection)