Nanoligent closes €12 million funding round to advance the development of its oncology nanodrug

Nanoligent, a biotechnology company specialized in the development of targeted nanodrugs for cancer treatment, has closed a €12 million funding round. The round was led by Inveready, through its Inveready Biotech IV fund, with additional participation from CDTI (via the Innvierte program), Clave Capital, through its Clave Innohealth fund, and current investors i&i Biotech Fund I, Italian Angels for Growth, and Avanteca.

This capital injection will allow Nanoligent to complete the regulatory preclinical development of its lead compound, NNL1524, and advance into the clinic with a Phase Ia study in patients with solid tumors. The funding will also support manufacturing scale-up and optimization of production processes.

The company is led by Dr. Montserrat Cano, CEO, and Manuel Rodríguez, Chairman of the Board, both with a strong track record in drug development and management of biotech projects and companies.

Founded in 2017 as a spin-off of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the Institut de Recerca at Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Nanoligent’s technology is based on advanced protein engineering and nanobiotechnology to develop highly selective, multivalent cytotoxic nanoparticles targeting specific tumor markers.

Its lead candidate, NNL1524, targets CXCR4, a membrane receptor involved in tumorigenesis, cell proliferation, and metastasis, which is overexpressed in various hematological malignancies and solid tumors such as colorectal cancer, lung carcinoma, and breast cancer. In animal models, NNL1524 has demonstrated strong efficacy, achieving significant tumor regression as a monotherapy, with a favorable safety profile. These results reinforce its potential as a new therapeutic option in areas where significant unmet clinical needs remain.

Dr. Montserrat Cano, CEO of Nanoligent, commented: “This is a very important moment for Nanoligent. We feel deeply grateful for the significant recognition it represents, both at the national level with the incorporation of the new investors, and through the continued trust of our international investors. Their knowledge of the sector will be of great value in achieving the company’s upcoming milestones. Our team is fully prepared and committed to enthusiastically embracing the challenges of this new stage and to bringing our technology to where it truly matters: the patients who need it.”

“We strongly believe in the potential of Nanoligent’s nanodrugs to overcome the limitations of conventional cytotoxic conjugate therapies. Their low molecular weight, high cellular internalization capacity, and strong selectivity for the therapeutic target provide advantages. We are pleased to lead this round alongside a strong syndicate of specialized national and international investors,” said Antonio Herce, Director at Inveready.

“We are delighted to join this new phase of Nanoligent, where the robustness of the preclinical results and the excellence of its team have demonstrated a level of quality that makes a real difference in the development of new oncological therapies,” said Ignacio Prieto. Investment Analyst at Clave Capital.

The transaction was advised by Hoffmann Eitle and VentureTech Audit.

About Nanoligent

Nanoligent is a company whose goal is to develop new anticancer drugs specifically targeting aggressive tumors, using a pioneering technological platform based on protein–drug nanoconjugates. The company is led by its CEO, Dr. Montserrat Cano, and its Chairman, Dr. Manuel Rodríguez Mariscal, both with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical sector.

It was originated as a spin-off of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, as the result of more than 10 years of fruitful collaboration between the Nanobiotechnology Group at the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (UAB), co-led by Professor Antonio Villaverde and Principal Investigator Esther Vázquez, and the Oncogenesis and Antitumor Drugs Group at the Sant Pau Biomedical Research Institute, headed by Professor Ramon Mangues.

www.nanoligent.com- mcano@nanoligent.com – (+34)617140405

About Inveready

Inveready is a leading financial services firm offering alternative assets, wealth management and traditional investment funds. Founded in 2008, as a venture capital fund manager, Inveready has evolved to become one of the most active investment firms in the small and medium sized companies' segment in Spain, currently managing more than €2.1 billion.

The financial group organises its services into three main business lines: ‘Alternative Assets’, which groups together different direct investment strategies (Venture Capital, Life Science Venture Debt, Strategic Public Equity, Private Equity and Infrastructures), ‘Wealth Management’ where they advise clients on different value-added products and services and ‘Investment Funds’ which invest in small cap stocks with a value investing approach through the True Value fund manager.

With 60 employees, Inveready is headquartered in San Sebastian, and has offices in Barcelona and Madrid. It has been recognised as ‘Best private equity firm’ in 2017 by SpainCap and as ‘Best European venture debt fund’ in 2023 by Preqin, among others.

www.inveready.com

About CDTI / Innvierte SICC

INNVIERTE Economía Sostenible SICC S.M.E., S.A. is an initiative created by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation, under the framework of the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities. Its aim is to promote business innovation by supporting venture capital investment in technology-based or innovative companies. This entity, established as part of the Spanish Strategy for Science, Technology, and Innovation, is a closed-end, self-managed collective investment company supervised by the National Securities Market Commission. More information in: https://www.innvierte.es/en/innvierte-sicc

To date, Innvierte has committed €2.661 billion across 61 investment vehicles that have invested in more than 622 companies, and through its co-investment line it has directly committed €723 million in 190 companies.

Innvierte is part of the Spanish Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation 2021–2027, approved by the Council of Ministers in September 2020. This Strategy sets out the objectives, reforms, and measures to be adopted across the R&D&I ecosystem in order to drive its growth and impact, and is one of the pillars underpinning the Government’s R&D&I policy design for the coming years.

CDTI Innovación

The Centre for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI E.P.E.) is the innovation agency of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, whose mission is to promote technological innovation in the business sector. CDTI’s mission is to ensure that Spanish industry generates and transforms scientific and technical knowledge into globally competitive, sustainable, and inclusive growth. In 2024, under a new strategic plan, CDTI provided more than €2.3 billion in support to Spanish companies and startups.

About Clave Capital

Clave Capital is an independent alternative asset management firm specialized in innovative projects and industrial SMEs. The firm has extensive experience in creating business value from scientific research results, with more than 20 years of expertise in investing, building, and supporting technology projects from their early stages, with a clear focus on technology transfer. Currently, the firm manages €173 million, with a highlight being Clave Innohealth F.C.R., a €50 million fund specialized in medical technologies and promoted with the support of CDTI Innvierte and several private investors linked to the healthcare sector.

About Italian Angels for Growth

Nanolinvest is the special vehicle company created by certain members of Italian Angels for Growth and Doorway to initially fund Nanoligent in the Seed Round and now continuing their support in the Series A. IAG, founded in 2007, is a leader in the Italian seed venture capital: more than 300 protagonists of the entrepreneurial, financial and industrial world that invest time, skills and capital for the growth of innovative startups. Italian Angels for Growth, in more than ten years of activity, has analyzed more than 7,500 startups and its members have made over 120 investments, for a total of over 350 million euros invested by IAG members and co-investors. IAG business angels support innovative projects financially by investing their own capital, but at the same time, thanks to the mix of skills of the members, support the founders of the startups in the definition of the business model in all its aspects.

Doorway S.p.A. Benefit Corporation is an innovative Italian fintech company that enables private and corporate investors to directly access Venture Capital opportunities through a technology platform authorized by Consob and the Bank of Italy. The company specializes in AI, Healthtech/Life Sciences, and Fintech. Since 2023, Doorway has been certified under EU Regulation 2020/1503 on European Crowdfunding Service Providers for business, and offers its investor community a curated selection of both Italian and international startups and scaleups, applying Venture Capital fund methodologies and, among the few in Italy, giving significant weight to ESG criteria. Active since 2019, Doorway has facilitated investments of over €35 million in more than 50 innovative companies, over 70% of which generate a significant social and environmental impact.

www.italianangels.net- et@italianangels.net

guido.lecce@doorwayplatform.com

About AVANTECA Partners

AVANTECA Partners is a Swiss-based, privately held asset management company that invests in early-stage life science companies.

www.avanteca.com

About i&i Bio

i&i Biotech Fund I (i&i Bio) is a Luxembourg-based venture capital fund focused on innovative European life science companies in drug discovery, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health. Established through a partnership between the biotech incubator i&i Prague and the European Investment Fund, the fund manages €53 million and invests in a diversified portfolio of early-stage companies across Central Europe. With a team experienced in private equity, healthcare, and venture capital, i&i Bio combines financial investment with strategic support to help entrepreneurs achieve international growth.

www.inibio.eu

About European Investment Fund

i&i Bio is supported by an investment from the EIF, with the support of:

·lnnovFin Equity, with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) set up under the Investment Plan for Europe. The purpose of EFSI is to help support financing and implementing productive investments in the European Union and to ensure increased access to financing; and

·the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF), implemented by the EIF with the financial support of the Participating Member States. The objective of EGF is to respond to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring that companies in the Participating Member States have sufficient short-term liquidity available to weather the crisis and are able to continue their growth and development in the medium to long-term.