HealthTech Aplagon, a Helsinki-based clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a first-in-class therapeutic APAC for thrombo-inflammatory diseases, announced today it has closed a €7 million financing.
The funding round was led by new investors Fåhraeus Startup and Growth AB (FSG), a Nordic venture capital fund, and European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund. FSG and EIC Fund were joined by leading Finnish investors, including Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, Innovestor and Gösta Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation.
Johanna Asklin will also join Aplagon as a Board member and Alexander Jöndell, Partner at FSG, as an Observer.
Aki Prihti, CEO at Aplagon, said, “We’re delighted to secure this fund-raising, and to bring on board FSG and EIC Fund as highly experienced VC investors from outside Finland. We have been making strong progress, and this financing enables us to complete the three international clinical trials we have been running with APAC, and to start a Phase 2a study in PAOD/CLTI. Our innovative approach, using a heparin proteoglycan mimetic with targeting ability and retention on the vascular injury sites, has potential applications across a broad range of serious vascular diseases. We are looking forward to announcing clinical results from these trials in 2025 and 2026.”
Aplagon is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a first-in-class therapeutic APAC for treating thrombo-inflammatory diseases. The company’s first two lead indications are:
- The prevention of AVF maturation failure, to enable lifesaving haemodialysis treatment in end-stage kidney disease patients,
- CLTI, to prevent amputations and other major cardiovascular events in CLTI patients.
Founded in 2009, Aplagon and its therapeutic APAC are based on the research on mast cell-derived heparin proteoglycans performed by Prof. Riitta Lassila and associates at Wihuri Research Institute in Helsinki, Finland. Aplagon is backed by a syndicate of leading Nordic investors including FSG Fund, Wihuri Foundation, Innovestor and Serlachius Foundation as well as EIC Fund.
By mimicking naturally occurring mast cell-derived heparin proteoglycans, APAC targets arterial injury sites providing long-lasting antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory action in situ.
The funding will support the initiation of Phase 2a clinical trial of APAC for peripheral arterial occlusive disease/chronic limb threatening ischemia (PAOD/CLTI) in Finland. APAC is also poised to complete three ongoing clinical trials; a Phase I clinical trial for Arteriovenous Fistula (AVF) maturation failure, a Phase I intravenous (IV) clinical trial in healthy participants, and a PET-imaging clinical trial with zirconium-labeled APAC in PAOD patients and healthy participants in 2025.
APAC is intended for in-hospital use and can be administered either locally or by IV infusion. Over 40 participants have so far received APAC without any safety concerns and initial clinical findings are encouraging – according to Aplagon.
Johanna Asklin, General Partner at FSG, said, “Thrombo-inflammation is a key underlying driver for many cardiovascular diseases. At FSG we look for revolutionary innovations, and we found precisely that with Aplagon’s APAC approach to treat this clear unmet medical need.”
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/02/healthtech-aplagon-announces-e7-million-for-thrombo-inflammatory-diseases/
