Leyden Labs raises €30 million from EIC Fund and Invest-NL to push intranasal pan‑influenza spray into clinical development
- ›Leyden Laboratories raised €30 million in equity from the European Innovation Council Fund and Invest-NL to advance its PanFlu intranasal antibody program and broader mucosal platform.
- ›The financing expands Leyden Labs’ global investor base which already includes US and Asian venture backers and follows a $70 million Series B and a €20 million EIB venture debt deal backed by HERA.
- ›Leyden’s lead candidate uses the broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibody CR9114 delivered to the nasal mucosa to block influenza at the site of infection, an approach that aims to protect people who respond poorly to vaccines.
- ›The strategy aligns with EU goals for pandemic preparedness and strategic autonomy in health technologies but important clinical, regulatory, manufacturing and durability questions remain unanswered.
Leyden Labs secures €30 million from EIC Fund and Invest-NL to accelerate PanFlu nasal spray
Leyden Laboratories B.V., a clinical stage Dutch biotech founded in 2020, announced on 2 October 2025 that it has raised €30 million in new equity from the European Innovation Council Fund and Invest-NL. The company says the capital will accelerate clinical development of its lead intranasal product PanFlu and further work on its mucosal protection platform that targets influenza, coronaviruses and other respiratory viruses. The round expands a syndicate that already includes investors from the United States, Asia and Europe.
What Leyden Labs builds and why it matters
Leyden Labs is developing nasal sprays that deliver monoclonal antibodies directly to the nasal mucosa with the aim of intercepting respiratory viruses at the point of entry. The company positions this as a non vaccine prophylactic option that could provide immediate, universal protection including for people with weakened immune systems. Its lead candidate for influenza, PanFlu, is based on the broadly neutralizing human monoclonal antibody CR9114, which Leyden Labs developed under an exclusive license from Janssen.
Funding trail and investor syndicate
The €30 million equity round from the European Innovation Council Fund and Invest-NL follows a busy financing year for Leyden Labs. The company closed a $70 million Series B in January 2025 and secured a €20 million venture debt facility from the European Investment Bank in June 2025 that was facilitated by the European Commission’s InvestEU initiative under the HERA Invest top up. Leyden lists a deep roster of venture investors and strategic backers across regions.
| Date | Transaction | Amount and source |
| January 9, 2025 | Series B equity financing | $70 million led by ClavystBio and Polaris Partners with participation from GV, Casdin and others |
| June 3, 2025 | Venture debt | €20 million from the European Investment Bank facilitated by InvestEU under HERA Invest |
| October 2, 2025 | Equity investment | €30 million from the European Innovation Council Fund and Invest-NL |
Public and private backers named by Leyden include GV, Casdin Capital, F Prime, ClavystBio (Temasek), Polaris Partners, Qiming Venture Partners, Invus, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Byers Capital, Bluebird Ventures, the EIB and now the EIC Fund and Invest-NL. Leyden also highlights an acquisition of CoV Biotechnology in Singapore earlier in 2025 to expand R&D and regional presence.
Policy context and public backing
The EIC Fund invests equity in deep tech companies to bridge financing gaps as projects move toward commercialisation. Invest-NL is the Dutch national promotional institution that aims to mobilise capital in strategic sectors. The European Investment Bank financing fell under HERA Invest, a targeted top up to InvestEU aimed at pandemic preparedness, biodefence and antimicrobial resistance. European institutions say backing ventures such as Leyden is part of a wider push to strengthen regional preparedness and strategic autonomy in health technologies after the COVID 19 pandemic.
Scientific and commercial caveats to watch
Leyden Labs frames intranasal antibodies as a way to 'stop infections at the gate' and to protect populations who may respond poorly to systemic vaccines. The approach is scientifically plausible but still experimental at clinical scale. Important unknowns remain about the durability of protection from intranasal monoclonals, manufacturing cost and capacity, required dosing schedules, regulatory pathways for a prophylactic antibody nasal spray, and real world effectiveness against evolving viral threats.
Investors and officials quoted in Leyden’s announcements position the financing as a public benefit and a contribution to European preparedness. Company statements note the new funds reinforce earlier backing and expand access to talent and markets in Asia and the US. Those strategic benefits matter for a company that will need to run pivotal clinical trials and secure commercial manufacturing partnerships.
What to watch next
Near term milestones to monitor include the results of ongoing and upcoming clinical trials for PanFlu, the company’s plans for human efficacy studies, regulatory engagement in Europe and other jurisdictions, manufacturing scale up and any evidence on duration of nasal antibody protection. Observers should also watch whether public investors impose access or pricing conditions when state backed funds are deployed to support potentially critical health countermeasures.
For European policy makers, funding experimental but potentially high impact prophylactics addresses a policy objective to increase regional resilience. For clinicians and public health officials, the key test will be robust clinical data showing meaningful reduction in infections or transmission that is practical to deliver at population scale.
Company snapshot and contact details
Leyden Laboratories B.V. is a clinical stage company based in Leiden, the Netherlands, with an Asia office in Singapore. The company was founded in 2020 and has licensed CR9114 from Janssen Pharmaceuticals under an exclusive arrangement. Leyden says it is building a pipeline of broadly protective nasal sprays for influenza, coronaviruses and other respiratory viruses. Media and investor contacts are published on the company website.