Biotech firm ViaNautis raises £20m backed by SCI Ventures and 4BIO Capital
This article covers ViaNautis, a biotech startup, which has closed a growth funding round of £20m to advance its polyNaut® non‑viral delivery platform into regenerative therapies for chronic spinal cord injury. The funding aims to support expansion of the startup's central nervous system programme and to address delivery challenges in genetic medicines, targeting regenerative treatments for patients with chronic spinal cord injury.
ViaNautis has closed a growth funding round of £20m to push its polyNaut® non‑viral delivery platform into regenerative therapies for chronic spinal cord injury, addressing a persistent barrier in getting genetic medicines to the right cells. The funding aims to expand the company’s central nervous system (CNS) programme into an indication with high unmet need and little approved regenerative treatment.
Why it matters
Spinal cord injury affects more than 20 million people worldwide and carries lifelong morbidity and treatment costs that can run to several million dollars per patient. Current care is largely rehabilitation and symptomatic management. Many regenerative approaches are now in the lab, but delivering therapeutic payloads to the precise cells at or around the lesion remains a core technical and clinical challenge.
The announcement matters because it directs fresh capital specifically at that delivery problem. If polyNaut® can enable targeted, systemic delivery of nucleic acids to the injured spinal cord without the immunogenicity and dose limits of viral vectors, it could broaden which genetic therapies are feasible for CNS repair.
Inside the product
ViaNautis develops polyNaut®, described as targeted polymer nanovesicles or tPNVs, that use nanobody‑guided, receptor‑mediated uptake to deliver DNA and mRNA to selected cell types. The company positions the approach as a non‑viral, redosable delivery option designed to limit immune responses associated with viral vectors and to be adaptable across payloads.
polyNaut® is presented as a plug‑and‑play system: nanobody targeting modules can be swapped to aim the same carrier at different receptors and tissues. ViaNautis is applying the platform across CNS, immunology, oncology and respiratory programmes and has strategic collaborations with Eli Lilly and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which illustrate how industry and patient organisations are testing the technology in different therapeutic areas.
Who are the investors?
ViaNautis said the £20m round brings in SCI Ventures as a new investor to support the company’s move into chronic spinal cord injury. The company is already backed by a group of investors that the announcement describes as blue‑chip, including 4BIO Capital, BGF and UCB Ventures.
SCI Ventures is a mission‑driven fund focused on neuro‑restoration and paralysis and is backed by clinical centres and research foundations. The fund says it pairs capital with clinical validation and a global network to accelerate development.
In the announcement, Adrien Cohen, Founding Managing Director at SCI Ventures, said:
We are seeing many promising scientific advances in the laboratory but translating these discoveries into meaningful therapies remains a major challenge. What drew us to ViaNautis was the potential of its polyNaut® platform and precise targeting capabilities to overcome one of the most significant hurdles in spinal cord injury: delivery. We are excited to support the company’s expansion into this important indication.
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Founder perspective
In the announcement, Adi Hoess, Chief Executive Officer at ViaNautis, said:
With the support of SCI Ventures, we are expanding our CNS portfolio into spinal cord injury and exploring how precise delivery can unlock new regenerative approaches for patients who continue to have very limited treatment options.
Hoess frames the funding as validation of polyNaut®’s applicability to a CNS indication where delivery has blocked progress. The company will use the capital to extend preclinical work and to test targeting strategies intended to reach cells at and around spinal lesions.
The bigger picture
The deal highlights continued interest in non‑viral delivery approaches within biotech as groups try to move genetic medicines beyond indications where viral vectors are practical. It also underscores the growing role of mission‑oriented funds and specialist investors in pushing translational projects into harder CNS indications.
For the UK and European biotech sector, ViaNautis joins a cohort of companies focused on delivery science rather than a single payload, a trend that could unlock multiple downstream therapy programmes. The involvement of academic clinical centres via SCI Ventures also points to closer ties between translational science and investment strategies aimed at rapidly testing clinically meaningful hypotheses.
The funding round is another data point in the broader push to finance late‑preclinical and early‑clinical work on delivery technologies in Europe, where regulatory and funding pathways for genetic medicines continue to evolve.
They've invested in ViaNautis
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| Investors | Investment Focus | Startup Investments | Round Size | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SCI Ventures( ) | ||||
 4BIO Capital( ) We are a London-based venture capital firm specialising in life sciences, with a... London  | ||||
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 UCB Ventures( ) | ||||
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