Milan, Italy — 29 September 2026 — Aptadir Therapeutics announced the closing of a EUR 40M ($45M) seed round led by 4BIO Capital, with follow-on participation from the company’s original pre-seed investor EXTEND (CDP Venture Capital SGR, Angelini Ventures and Evotec SE). The funds will be used to advance Aptadir’s pipeline of RNA inhibitor–based therapeutics, including its lead candidate CAP1-FMR1 for Fragile X Syndrome.
The seed round also saw participation from CDP Venture Capital through the Digital Transition Fund, Indaco Venture Partners (Indaco Bio Structure and Indaco Bio Parallel Lombardia), XGEN Venture, CE‑Ventures, Angelini Ventures (direct investment), Kerna Ventures, Italian Angels for Biotech and Club degli Investitori.
Aptadir’s technology and pipeline
Aptadir is developing a proprietary class of molecules called DNMTs Interacting RNAs (DiRs). According to the company, DiRs are capable of blocking aberrant DNA methylation at a single-gene level, reactivating previously hypermethylated genes and restoring gene expression and normal biological function. The company says it has demonstrated these effects in patient-derived disease models and is building a portfolio of drug candidates aimed at cancers and genetic disorders where gene silencing is a key feature.
The company’s first programme targets Fragile X Syndrome, a genetic disorder caused by silencing of the FMR1 gene that leads to loss or reduction of FMRP, a protein essential for normal brain development and function.
Founding science and investors
Aptadir’s technology is described as originating from landmark discoveries by an international group of scientists. The announcement cites the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Italian Research National Council (CNR) and the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore as key institutional origins. Named contributors include Annalisa Di Ruscio and Daniel Tenen (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center), Vittorio de Franciscis (Italian Research National Council) and Marcin Kortylewsky (City of Hope National Medical Center). The company’s materials also refer to contributions from Harvard Medical School and the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore.
Giovanni Amabile, Founder and CEO, said: “The magnitude of this seed round reflects the exciting potential of our DiRs technology and the quality of a truly international scientific team. Originating from world-class institutions, the discovery of this new class of RNA inhibitors was a landmark event not only from a scientific point of view, but also for providing newfound hope for patients affected by intractable disorders. With the backing of our investors, we now have the opportunity to develop a pipeline of drug candidates with the potential to restore genetic pathways that, for decades, have been considered irreversibly silenced.”
Dima Kuzmin, Managing Partner of lead investor 4BIO Capital, added: “Finding truly innovative new science with such potential is a rare event. We are delighted to back this novel modality that can give rise to multiple therapeutics addressing previously entirely undruggable disease mechanisms. The group of founders behind the science are world-renowned and the potential of the technology could be life changing. We are confident that the right factors are in place, from the science to the management team, to take this technology forward into the clinic.”
Claudia Pingue, Head of Technology Transfer fund at CDP Venture Capital and Chairman of EXTEND, said: “Our purpose at EXTEND is to identify and help develop translational drug discovery opportunities. We recognized how powerful Aptadir’s science could be from the outset, and this was the rationale for us to spinning out the company and investing from the very earliest, highest risk stages, first at the pre-seed and follow through with this significant seed round. We are proud that this science is now attracting further investment from international partners, and we will continue to support the Company as it develops.”
For more information, the company lists www.aptadir.com and LinkedIn as contact points.
