NanoPhoria Bioscience has announced the second closing of its series A financing round, including a €15 million equity investment from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund.

The company recently received the largest ever Series A financing round in Italian biotech history,

Alongside the EIC, NanoPhoria also received financial support from XGEN Venture, Sofinnova Partners, CDP Venture Capital, and Panakes Partners.

The round, which summed to €83.5m, will enable NanoPhoria to continue the development of its lead asset, NP-MP1, through IND-enabling studies and early clinical development. NP-MP1 is a first-in-class peptide that targets cardiac L-type calcium channels to improve ejection fraction for the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).

NP-MP1 is delivered via NanoPhoria’s lung-to-heart, nano-in-micro technology, and it has demonstrated excellent efficacy in preclinical models of heart failure. NP-MP1 aims to address the root cause of HFrEF – a condition that impacts approximately 30m people globally, with a five-year mortality rate of around 40% – by improving the contractility of the heart.

“Receiving EIC Fund support is hugely meaningful for any biotech company,” said NanoPhoria’s Co-Founder and CEO, Claudio De Luca. “By securing their backing, we have proven that NanoPhoria embodies the best features of European science – ambition, discipline and true expertise. We look forward to working alongside them in the future and thank them for their continued support.”

Svetoslava Georgieva, Chair of the EIC Fund Board added: “EIC Fund’s investment in NanoPhoria underscores our commitment to backing innovative companies that aim to improve the health and well-being of European citizens. NanoPhoria’s lead product, NP-MP1, addresses a critical unmet need in heart failure, and its technology has the potential to redefine targeted cardiology therapeutics.”

Bruno Quinney, Content Team, DDW