Italy-based biotech company NanoPhoria Bioscience has announced the initial closing of its Series A funding round, raising €83.5m ($98m).

The round was led by XGEN Venture, Sofinnova Partners and CDP Venture Capital. Panakès Partners and an undisclosed investor also participated.

NanoPhoria will use the funds to advance the development of its lead candidate, NP-MP1, aimed at treating heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The proceeds will be utilised for investigational new drug (IND)-enabling trials and early clinical development of NP-MP1.

The funds will also support manufacturing scale-up to meet good manufacturing practice standards and help navigate the regulatory landscape.

NP-MP1, a first-in-class peptide, targets cardiac L-type calcium channels, with the intention of enhancing ejection fraction for individuals with HFrEF.

The peptide is delivered through the company’s lung-to-heart nano-in-micro technology. This has shown promising results in preclinical models of heart failure.

NanoPhoria co-founder and CEO Claudio De Luca stated: “This financing is a transformational milestone for NanoPhoria. It enables us to accelerate clinical development of NP-MP1 and expand our pipeline.

“Our innovative delivery platform allows us to target previously inaccessible cellular targets in the cardiomyocyte, thereby bringing us closer to delivering life-changing treatments for patients living with serious cardiac and other chronic conditions who are underserved by existing treatments.”

NanoPhoria, founded in 2022, emerged from Italy’s National Research Council. The company's research focuses on the development of tissue-directed delivery platform for therapeutic peptides and RNAs, using inorganic calcium-phosphate nanoparticles as a biomimetic nano-carrier.

This technology enables the targeted delivery of biologics and can be adapted for various administration methods, including inhalation.