NanoPhoria Bioscience, the company which recently received the largest ever Series A financing round in Italian biotech history, has today announced the second closing of its series A round.

The second closing does not change the total amount raised, but means that NanoPhoria can now declare that it secured a €15 million equity investment from the European Innovation Council Fund.

Alongside the EIC, NanoPhoria also secured financial support in its Series A from XGEN Venture, Sofinnova Partners, CDP Venture Capital, and Panakes Partners.

As disclosed previously, the Series A round, which summed to €83.5m (USD 98m) 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".

Alessandro Scortecci, Director Direct Investments of CDP Venture Capital said:

“Nanophoria contributes to bringing Italian research on the global stage, its NP-MP1 has the potential to significantly improve patients’ lives by addressing a specific heart disease currently lacking effective treatments. The team has already achieved important milestones and has demonstrated ambition and a truly global perspective. We are proud to support Nanophoria in its next phase of growth”.