Netherlands-based Leyden Laboratories B.V. (Leyden Labs) announced a EUR 40 million (approximately USD 43.6 million) private placement from a geographically distributed group of impact-focused investors, providing capital to advance its intranasal antibody platform through clinical development. The funding is also earmarked to support access strategies in low- and middle-income countries, a mandate that shaped the investor composition.
The round was funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, investing through its EIC Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) Scale Up initiative; Invest-NL, the Netherlands' national promotional institution; the Gates Foundation, with its participation explicitly directed at access strategies for lower-income markets; and Singapore-linked ClavystBio, alongside undisclosed additional investors. No placement agents or underwriters were identified. The EIC Fund and Invest-NL jointly nominated Ben Verwaayen, a veteran technology executive, to join Leyden Labs' Supervisory Board as part of the transaction terms.
Company overview and pipeline
Leyden Labs is a private, Leiden-based biotech focused on developing broadly protective nasal sprays against respiratory viruses, including influenza and coronaviruses. Its Mucosal Protection Platform is predicated on delivering broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies directly to the respiratory mucosa — the primary viral entry point — rather than relying on systemic immune responses generated by conventional vaccines or injected antibodies. The company's lead program, PanFlu, is built around CR9114, a broadly neutralizing antibody licensed exclusively from Janssen Pharmaceutica (Johnson & Johnson) that targets both influenza A and B strains and has completed Phase I trials. By administering CR9114 intranasally, Leyden Labs aims to provide protection at the site of infection that is independent of a patient's immune status, a feature the company argues is particularly relevant for immunocompromised populations for whom vaccine-induced immunity may be insufficient.
The intranasal broadly neutralizing antibody approach occupies a distinct niche relative to existing influenza countermeasures. Current seasonal vaccines confer 40% to 60% protection in well-matched seasons and require annual reformulation. Systemically delivered monoclonal antibodies, while potent, do not concentrate protection at the mucosal surface.