The round also includes the originator Helsinn, existing investors Pureos Bioventures, Sound Bioventures, Industrifonden, Flerie, and LLD Nybohov Invest AB, as well as new investor Innovestor Life Science.

AC01 is a first-in-class oral ghrelin receptor agonist designed to improve cardiac contractility through a calcium-sensitizing mechanism, without the safety concerns linked to conventional inotropes. The program builds on research led by Professor Lars Lund at Karolinska Institutet, which showed that activating the ghrelin signaling pathway could improve cardiac function in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).

Approximately one-third of patients with HFrEF do not respond adequately to, or cannot tolerate, standard therapy, and they risk progressing to advanced disease, where two-year mortality can reach 50%. Conventional inotropic therapies can increase contractility, but safety concerns such as arrhythmias, ischemia, and increased mortality generally limit them to short-term use.

In the Phase 1b/2a GOAL-HF1 study, published in The Lancet in June 2026, patients receiving AC01 3 mg twice daily showed a 22% increase in cardiac output and a 4.8 percentage point improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction after 28 days, compared with 1.6 percentage points in the placebo group. No tachycardia, new-onset sustained arrhythmias, ischemia, or symptomatic hypotension were observed.

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The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2b study, GOAL-HF2, will evaluate two dose levels of AC01 over twelve weeks in approximately 400 patients at around 100 sites in twelve countries across North America and Europe. The study design has been agreed with the FDA and EMA, regulatory clearance has been received, and the first participant is expected to be enrolled in Q4 2026.

“We’re really excited to move AC01 into Phase 2b development: we believe it’s a potentially transformative opportunity to improve patient outcomes in advanced heart failure,” says Patrik Strömberg, CEO of AnaCardio. “This funding round gives us the capital to complete the GOAL-HF2 Phase 2b study and deliver a first-in-class Phase 3-ready asset by 2028.”

“AC01 is the first oral agent we have seen with the potential to overcome the safety limitations of traditional inotropes,” says Jørgen Søberg Petersen, Senior Partner at Novo Holdings.