MILAN– NanoPhoria has been named Startup of the Year by StartupItalia at SIOS25 Winter, the tenth anniversary edition of the StartupItalia Open Summit, held at Palazzo Mezzanotte in Milan. The award recognises NanoPhoria for its scientific innovation and its contribution to the Italian and European life sciences ecosystem and marks it as one of the region’s most exciting novel start-ups.

The Startup of the Year award is awarded by StartupItalia’s editorial team to one of ten finalists selected for their technological innovation, market potential and ability to translate research excellence into scalable impact. NanoPhoria was shortlisted alongside Lexroom and WSense and ultimately selected as the overall winner during the closing session of SIOS25 Winter thanks to its innovative new drug delivery platform targeting heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, a condition with vast health-economic impacts on a global scale.

NanoPhoria is a Milan-based biotech company and a spin-off of Italy’s National Research Council. Founded in 2022, the company is developing a therapeutic platform based on inorganic calcium phosphate nanoparticles designed to enable targeted drug delivery from the lungs to the heart. Its lead program, NP-MP1 focuses on heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, and is currently in preclinical development.

The award was presented on the main stage of SIOS25 Winter, an event that brought together founders, investors, institutions and industry leaders to discuss the state of innovation in Italy, with a particular focus on human capital and long-term value creation. During the event, leaders from venture capital, industry and public institutions emphasised the importance of investing in talent, research and scale-up capabilities to strengthen the national innovation ecosystem.

NanoPhoria’s recognition comes in a year of significant progress for the company. In 2025, the company closed a Series A financing round of €83.5 million, led by XGen Venture, Sofinnova Partners and CDP Venture Capital, supporting the advancement of its therapeutic pipeline and platform technology.

Accepting the award on behalf of the company was NanoPhoria’s co-founder, Daniele Catalucci.

“Receiving this award means a lot,” said Catalucci. “It is proof that NanoPhoria stands out among Italian start-ups, and we believe our ongoing work will allow us to stand out on the global stage, too.”

The Startup of the Year award at SIOS25 Winter further positions NanoPhoria as one of the most prominent emerging biotech companies in Italy, reflecting the growing role of advanced drug delivery and cardiovascular innovation within the European life sciences landscape.

About NanoPhoria

Founded in 2022 by Daniele Catalucci, Michele Iafisco, Alessio Alogna and Claudio De Luca NanoPhoria is a spin-off from Italy’s National Research Council (CNR). The company is developing a versatile, Nano-in-Micro & lung-to-heart delivery platform based on inorganic calcium phosphate nanoparticles. The company’s first product is a pre-clinical stage treatment for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), a chronic syndrome affecting the lives of millions worldwide. NanoPhoria is supported by Sofinnova Partners, XGEN Venture, CDP Venture Capital and other investors. Learn more at NanoPhoria.com