NanoPhoria Secures €83.5M Series A for Heart Failure Therapy; AstraZeneca and Algen Ink Up to $555M AI Drug Discovery Pact

NanoPhoria Bioscience, based in Milan, closed a €83.5 million Series A round—the largest Series A for an Italian biotech—led by XGEN Venture, Sofinnova Partners, CDP Venture Capital, and others13.

Funds will advance NanoPhoria's lead candidate, NP-MP1, an inhalable first-in-class peptide targeting cardiac L-type calcium channels to treat heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF)13.

The proprietary nano-in-micro delivery platform enables efficient, targeted lung-to-heart delivery, with plans to expand beyond HFrEF to other indications using the raised capital13.

AstraZeneca has entered a deal worth up to $555 million with Algen Biotechnologies to utilize Algen's AI-driven 'AlgenBrain' platform for early-stage immunology drug discovery24.

Algen will use its platform, combining AI and advanced CRISPR gene modulation, to identify targets for immune-related diseases; AstraZeneca gains exclusive development and commercialization rights for therapies emerging from the collaboration24.

Algen receives an upfront payment plus milestone-based biobucks, with the full deal potentially reaching $555 million in total value24.

Sources:

1. https://markets.financialcontent.com/wral/article/bizwire-2025-10-6-nanophoria-bioscience-secures-835-million-series-a-to-advance-breakthrough-heart-failure-therapy-and-expand-portfolio-for-novel-nano-in-micro-delivery-platform

2. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/astrazeneca-algen-biotechnolgies-pen-555m-ai-pact-immunology-targets

3. https://www.vestbee.com/insights/articles/nano-phoria-raises-83-5-m

4. https://www.aol.com/articles/astrazeneca-signs-555-million-deal-121027908.html