NanoPhoria Bioscience, a next-generation biotech company pioneering precision nanomedicine for cardiovascular and chronic diseases, today announced the first close of its €83.5 million Series A financing round. The round was co-led by XGEN Venture, Sofinnova Partners, and CDP Venture Capital, with participation from Panakès Partners and one undisclosed institutional investor.
This significant investment will accelerate the clinical translation of NanoPhoria’s lead candidate, NP-MP1, a first-in-class therapeutic peptide designed to restore cardiac function in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The proceeds will also enable the company to broaden its therapeutic pipeline and further develop its proprietary Nano-in-Micro™ platform, a breakthrough lung-to-heart drug delivery system that could transform how precision biologics are targeted to the heart and other organs.
Transforming Heart Failure Treatment
Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction remains one of the world’s most urgent unmet medical challenges, affecting millions of patients globally and carrying a five-year mortality rate of approximately 40%. Current therapies primarily manage symptoms rather than addressing the underlying causes of the disease, leaving many patients with limited options.
NanoPhoria’s investigational therapy, NP-MP1, takes a fundamentally different approach. The peptide targets cardiac L-type calcium channels, key regulators of cardiac contractility, with the goal of improving ejection fraction and heart muscle performance. By acting directly on these cellular mechanisms, NP-MP1 aims to restore the heart’s ability to pump blood efficiently—offering a potential disease-modifying treatment rather than mere symptom relief.
The therapeutic is delivered using NanoPhoria’s proprietary lung-to-heart Nano-in-Micro™ technology, which enables precise pulmonary administration of nanoparticles designed to reach cardiac tissue efficiently and safely. Preclinical studies have demonstrated strong efficacy and safety profiles, showing that NP-MP1 not only enhances cardiac function but does so with minimal systemic side effects.
A Platform with Broad Potential
Beyond NP-MP1, NanoPhoria’s Nano-in-Micro™ platform represents a major advance in targeted drug delivery. The platform combines nanotechnology and pulmonary delivery to achieve organ-specific biodistribution, allowing for direct delivery of biologics to the heart while bypassing traditional delivery barriers.
This innovation opens opportunities beyond cardiovascular disease, with potential applications in metabolic, pulmonary, and inflammatory disorders. The company’s scientists are currently exploring next-generation peptide and nucleic acid therapies optimized for the Nano-in-Micro system, positioning NanoPhoria as a pioneer at the intersection of nanotechnology, cardiology, and molecular therapeutics.
Leadership Perspectives
“This financing marks a transformational milestone for NanoPhoria,” said Claudio De Luca, CEO and co-founder. “It enables us to move NP-MP1 into IND-enabling studies and advance toward early clinical development, while expanding our broader therapeutic pipeline. Our delivery platform allows us to target previously inaccessible cellular mechanisms in the cardiomyocyte, bringing us closer to life-changing treatments for patients with severe cardiac and chronic diseases who are underserved by current therapies. We are deeply grateful to our investors, board members, and Chair, Suman Shirodkar, whose vision and leadership have guided NanoPhoria’s progress.”
Paolo Fundarò, Managing Partner at XGEN Venture, emphasized how NanoPhoria aligns with the firm’s strategy to empower Italy’s most innovative biotech companies:
“NanoPhoria’s science provides a novel and viable approach for delivering highly potent therapeutics directly to the heart. This investment perfectly fits our mission to back groundbreaking startups addressing major unmet medical needs, and we are thrilled to collaborate with this exceptional syndicate of investors.”
Henrijette Richter, Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners, highlighted the strategic importance of the platform and the company’s global potential:
“NanoPhoria’s platform has the potential to redefine treatment paradigms for cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. This financing continues the early support provided by my colleague Lucia Faccio, Partner in the Sofinnova Telethon Strategy, whose guidance was instrumental during the company’s early formation. Our investment underscores Sofinnova’s broader commitment to supporting world-class science from seed-stage innovation through to late-stage growth across Europe.”
Building the Future of Cardiac Therapeutics
The Series A funding marks a pivotal inflection point for NanoPhoria as it transitions from preclinical research to clinical-stage development. The company plans to use the proceeds to complete IND-enabling studies for NP-MP1, expand its scientific and technical teams, and strengthen manufacturing capabilities for its Nano-in-Micro platform.
With a vision to transform the treatment landscape of cardiovascular disease, NanoPhoria is positioning itself at the forefront of precision drug delivery. Its approach—merging cutting-edge nanotechnology, peptide therapeutics, and targeted delivery—represents a paradigm shift in how complex diseases are addressed at the molecular level.
As NanoPhoria moves into its next phase of growth, the company’s investors and leadership are aligned around a shared mission: to deliver breakthrough therapies that reach the heart in every sense—scientifically and clinically—transforming outcomes for millions of patients worldwide.
