DNAswitch, an Italian biotechnology startup founded in 2024, has secured €500,000 in seed funding from the BioInnovation Institute (BII) Catalyst Fund for Italy I. The investment marks a significant milestone for the Padova-based company, making it the first Italian firm to receive support through BII’s International Venture Lab initiative.
The funding round was managed by Panakès Partners and co-funded by the Lazio Region’s PR FESR 2021-2027 programme via Lazio Innova. Additional support came from accelerator G-Factor and non-dilutive grants secured through Area Science Park, strengthening the company’s financial position as it advances its proprietary technology platform.
Advancing a Novel Approach to Huntington’s Disease
DNAswitch is developing an innovative gene therapy approach targeting Huntington’s disease, one of the most challenging neurodegenerative disorders. The company’s therapeutic strategy centres on activating the transcription factor MTF1, which appears to trigger endogenous neuronal defence mechanisms capable of countering the disease’s progression.
The scientific basis for this approach emerged from rigorous cellular screening rather than theoretical assumptions. According to Graziano Martello, “MTF1 was not chosen based on a hypothesis: it emerged from a screening in stem cells as the strongest suppressor of mutant huntingtin toxicity.” This data-driven discovery process provides a solid foundation for the company’s clinical development efforts.
Accelerating Development Toward Clinical Trials
The newly secured capital will fund critical developmental work across multiple fronts. DNAswitch plans to allocate resources toward pre-clinical development activities, including biodistribution and pharmacokinetic studies essential for understanding how the therapy behaves within the body. The funding will also support comprehensive long-term safety evaluations, a prerequisite for regulatory approval and patient protection.
Manufacturing capabilities represent another priority area, with the investment enabling the production and testing of viral vectors necessary for delivering the therapeutic gene to target tissues. These infrastructure investments position the company to progress methodically toward clinical trial initiation, a critical inflection point for any gene therapy programme.
Strategic Positioning in European Biotech
The investment underscores growing confidence in Italy’s biotechnology sector and signals the BioInnovation Institute’s commitment to fostering innovation beyond traditional European biotech hubs. DNAswitch’s success in securing backing from an internationally-focused fund reflects both the scientific merit of its approach and the increasing recognition that breakthrough therapeutics can emerge from diverse geographic locations across Europe.
As European biotech continues evolving, with distributed innovation ecosystems replacing traditional concentration patterns, seed-stage investments in emerging regional clusters have become instrumental. The BII Catalyst Fund’s expansion into Italy, coupled with regional co-funding mechanisms, demonstrates how coordinated public and private investment can accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into viable therapeutic programmes.