🇸🇪 Industrifonden participates in AnaCardio’s €62.5 million Series B

September 30, 2026

Industrifonden is continuing its investment in AnaCardio as the Swedish biopharmaceutical company raises €62.5 million in a Series B financing to advance its lead candidate AC01 into Phase 2b development.

Round details and investors

The round is co-led by Novo Holdings and the Ljungström family office, with participation from originator Helsinn, existing investors including Industrifonden, Pureos Bioventures, Sound Bioventures, Flerie and LLD Nybohov Invest AB, as well as new investor Innovestor.

Clinical development

The financing will fully fund the Phase 2b GOAL-HF2 study, which is expected to enroll its first participant in Q4 2026. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study will evaluate AC01 in approximately 400 patients with chronic, advanced heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) across Europe and North America.

AC01 is a first-in-class oral ghrelin receptor agonist designed to improve cardiac contractility through a differentiated calcium-sensitizing mechanism. The program addresses a significant unmet need in advanced heart failure, where existing treatment options remain limited and conventional inotropic therapies are generally restricted by safety concerns.

Proof of concept

In the Phase 1b/2a GOAL-HF1 study, AC01 demonstrated clinical proof of concept alongside a favorable safety and tolerability profile. After 28 days, patients receiving AC01 3 mg twice daily showed a 22% increase in cardiac output from baseline and a 4.8 percentage point improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction, compared with 1.6 percentage points in the placebo group.

The new financing enables AnaCardio to progress AC01 into Phase 2b development, with the goal of advancing the program towards Phase 3 readiness by 2028.

Contact

Industrifonden
Vasagatan 11
PO Box 1163
111 91 Stockholm, Sweden
+46 8 587 919 00
[email protected]
For more information, visit Industrifonden.

Originally published on September 30, 2026 by Industrifonden.