AnaCardio has closed a €62.5 million ($70.5 million) Series B financing to advance its oral calcium-sensitizing contractile agent, AC01, through Phase IIb development for chronic advanced heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The company’s strategy is to fully fund the Phase IIb program and position AC01 for Phase III readiness by 2028. AC01 is described as a ghrelin mimetic small molecule aimed at improving cardiac contractility via a differentiated pathway. AnaCardio said it received positive scientific advice from both the FDA and the European Medicines Agency, following encouraging Phase Ib/IIa results published in The Lancet. The round was co-led by Novo Holdings and the Ljungström family office and included a mix of originator, existing investors and new capital. For the market, the funding underscores continued investor appetite for oral small-molecule approaches in heart failure—an area with persistent unmet need despite existing guideline therapies. (Selected item reflects the financing and development-stage update.)