How NanoPhoria’s record €83.5m raise could transform heart failure treatment—and put Italian biotech on the global map

When Milan-based NanoPhoria Bioscience announced the first close of its €83.5 million Series A financing, the news rippled far beyond Italy’s biotech circles. The raise, co-led by XGEN Venture, Sofinnova Partners, and CDP Venture Capital, represents the largest biotech Series A round ever completed in Italy—an emphatic vote of confidence in both NanoPhoria’s proprietary nano-in-micro delivery platform and the country’s evolving life-sciences ecosystem. Also participating were Panakès Partners and one undisclosed institutional investor, signaling multi-layered conviction across early-stage European venture capital.

The funding will propel NanoPhoria’s lead program NP-MP1, a first-in-class peptide for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), through IND-enabling studies, GMP manufacturing, and early clinical trials. The company’s ambition extends beyond one indication; it aims to validate its lung-to-heart nano delivery system as a modular technology capable of reaching cellular targets previously considered inaccessible.

Why is NanoPhoria’s nano-in-micro approach attracting global attention?

Conventional drugs for heart failure primarily focus on symptom management, not underlying cellular dysfunction. NanoPhoria’s approach departs from that paradigm. The company has developed a nano-in-micro platform that harnesses inorganic calcium phosphate nanoparticles embedded within a micro-carrier. When inhaled, the particles travel from the lungs directly to the heart, delivering therapeutic payloads precisely to cardiomyocytes, the heart’s muscle cells.

Its lead candidate NP-MP1 works by targeting L-type calcium channels, essential regulators of cardiac contractility. By improving calcium handling at the cellular level, NanoPhoria aims to restore ejection fraction—the percentage of blood the heart pumps with each beat—in patients with HFrEF. Preclinical data have reportedly shown that NP-MP1 not only boosts cardiac output but does so without causing systemic toxicity or arrhythmia, a key concern with traditional inotropes.

This delivery method marks a significant step forward in targeted cardiology therapeutics. The lung-to-heart transport pathway allows for direct therapeutic exposure, reducing systemic dilution and side effects. The platform could also be repurposed for other chronic diseases where direct organ targeting has been a bottleneck, opening avenues for broader application in metabolic and respiratory conditions.

How does the €83.5 million round reflect a turning point for Italian biotech?

For Italy, this round represents more than capital—it’s validation of its maturing venture ecosystem. Historically, European biotech has been dominated by clusters in Switzerland, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Italy’s emergence as a credible hub for deep-science startups underscores the growing sophistication of domestic research institutions such as the National Research Council (CNR), from which NanoPhoria spun out in 2022.

A typical European Series A in life sciences hovers between €10 million and €40 million, making NanoPhoria’s raise exceptional. The scale signals investor conviction that this platform can compete internationally, aligning with Europe’s renewed push to fund breakthrough cardiovascular therapies. It also arrives amid a post-pandemic wave of capital targeting platform-based biotech models, where investors prefer multi-indication technologies over single-asset plays.

Market observers noted that NanoPhoria’s raise follows the European Commission’s increased focus on strategic health sovereignty, encouraging local innovation and manufacturing independence. Venture activity in Italy has surged 35 percent year-on-year, with deep-tech and biotech comprising an expanding share of deal flow. NanoPhoria’s financing could therefore catalyze follow-on rounds and spinouts from Italian research centers looking to replicate its success.

What milestones lie ahead for NP-MP1 and NanoPhoria’s broader pipeline?

Armed with new funding, NanoPhoria plans to advance NP-MP1 into GLP toxicology and safety studies, refine its clinical formulation under GMP conditions, and engage with regulators to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application. The company’s stated goal is to commence Phase I human trials within 18 to 24 months, testing both safety and early efficacy endpoints.

Beyond HFrEF, NanoPhoria is exploring expansion into other cardiac and chronic disease indications, leveraging its adaptable nano-in-micro architecture to deliver peptides, nucleic acids, or small molecules. Its proprietary composition, based on calcium phosphate nanoparticles, allows for flexible loading of diverse therapeutic payloads, which could eventually encompass gene-modulating agents or mRNA-based molecules.

Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Claudio De Luca described the raise as “a transformational milestone that accelerates our mission to bring life-changing treatments to underserved cardiac patients.” His statement, paraphrased from the company’s press release, underscored gratitude to the founding team and investors while emphasizing NanoPhoria’s intent to build a pipeline of cardiometabolic therapeutics.

How are investors positioning this deal in Europe’s biotech landscape?

From an investment perspective, NanoPhoria’s backers represent some of the most experienced hands in European venture capital. Sofinnova Partners, based in Paris, London, and Milan, manages over €4 billion in assets and has backed more than 500 life-sciences companies globally. Managing Partner Henrijette Richter remarked that NanoPhoria’s technology could “redefine treatment paradigms in cardiovascular and chronic diseases,” aligning with Sofinnova’s strategy of nurturing European science from seed to scale.

XGEN Venture Managing Partner Paolo Fundarò described the investment as a natural fit for their mandate to finance innovative Italian startups addressing genuine medical needs. The venture firm’s first fund, the XGEN Venture Life Science Fund, was launched in 2022 to target early-stage opportunities in biotechnology and diagnostics. Meanwhile, CDP Venture Capital, managing €4.7 billion in assets, contributed through its Large Ventures Fund, dedicated to scaling high-impact Italian innovators.

Panakès Partners, which has €250 million under management, also joined the syndicate, further solidifying Milan’s position as a continental venture hub for life sciences. Analysts following European biotech view the syndication as a strategic coalition capable of guiding NanoPhoria through complex regulatory, clinical, and manufacturing phases while ensuring global investor visibility.

What opportunities and risks define NanoPhoria’s next stage?

While enthusiasm around NanoPhoria’s platform is high, the road to clinical and commercial success remains fraught. Translating strong preclinical performance into humans demands overcoming potential immunogenicity risks, verifying biodistribution, and ensuring manufacturing consistency—areas that can delay or derail even well-funded programs.

Moreover, NanoPhoria enters a competitive therapeutic landscape. Heart failure treatment is undergoing a renaissance, with innovations ranging from gene therapy to regenerative medicine. Global players such as AstraZeneca, Novartis, and Bristol Myers Squibb are advancing complementary mechanisms aimed at improving cardiac remodeling and contractility. NanoPhoria’s differentiation hinges on its precision delivery and safety profile.

Nevertheless, analysts argue that cardiovascular innovation remains underfunded relative to oncology or neurology. NanoPhoria’s success could therefore unlock fresh investor enthusiasm for the field, particularly for startups that blend delivery-system innovation with disease-specific molecular insights.

What could this mean for Italy’s long-term biotech ambitions?

NanoPhoria’s achievement marks a symbolic moment for Italy’s research-to-market pipeline. It demonstrates that the country can incubate and scale frontier biotech startups without needing to relocate abroad for funding. If successful, it may inspire policymakers to increase R&D incentives and attract cross-border collaborations.

Experts believe that success stories like NanoPhoria’s could anchor a new “Milan–Bologna–Rome biotech corridor,” integrating academia, venture funding, and clinical infrastructure. For global investors, Italy’s combination of academic excellence, lower operating costs, and rising venture capacity could prove increasingly appealing.

The company’s scientific foundation—originating from CNR’s Institute of Genetic and Biomedical Research—also underscores how public-sector research can translate into high-value commercial ventures when properly capitalized.

NanoPhoria Bioscience now carries the dual mantle of scientific pioneer and national trailblazer. Over the next two years, the company must demonstrate whether its lung-to-heart nano delivery platform can withstand clinical scrutiny and unlock scalable therapeutic applications.

If NP-MP1 progresses smoothly through early human trials, NanoPhoria could emerge as Europe’s next breakout cardiovascular biotech—potentially drawing interest from strategic acquirers or setting the stage for a public listing by 2027. Either way, the record-breaking Series A has already redrawn Italy’s biotech map and reaffirmed Europe’s appetite for transformative medical innovation.