Herantis Pharma Oyj on Wednesday outlined a funding shortfall of between EUR 22 million and EUR 27 million to advance its lead Parkinson’s drug candidate HER-096 through a phase II efficacy trial, despite securing EUR 8 million in Horizon Europe grant funding.
The Finnish biotechnology company reported EUR 3.5 million in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2026, alongside negative equity of EUR 0.7 million. Operating expenses remained flat year-over-year in the first half of 2026, while the company raised EUR 4.2 million through a directed share issue in February. Long-term debt increased compared with the first half of 2025, driven by funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation and Parkinson’s UK for a prior phase I-B trial.
HER-096, the company’s lead asset, targets early-stage Parkinson’s patients and has demonstrated favorable safety, tolerability, and biological activity in phase I-B trials, including efficient brain penetration and improvements in proteostasis and mitochondrial function. The phase II trial, estimated to cost approximately EUR 20 million, is designed as a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study with a 9-month placebo-controlled phase followed by a 6-month open-label extension. Enrollment is targeted at roughly 100 patients, with dosing set at two subcutaneous 300-milligram injections per week.
Management expects to submit a Clinical Trial Application by the end of 2026, with patient enrollment beginning in the first half of 2027. Interim efficacy data is anticipated in early 2029, followed by the full phase II dataset. CEO Antti Vuolanto described the company’s position as strong ahead of the efficacy trials, while Chief Medical Officer Juha Savola emphasized the need for a smart, patient-focused trial design to generate meaningful signals.
The company faces a remaining financing gap of EUR 22 million to EUR 27 million after accounting for the EUR 8 million grant and existing cash. Shares of Herantis Pharma fell 4.5% to EUR 1.614 on the update, extending declines from a 52-week high of EUR 3.87.
