Cantoni awarded validatioNN grant from Novo Nordisk to support disease-relevant translational research on NNMT, a novel target for cardiometabolic diseases, including obesity and its comorbidities
OSS, Netherlands, September 16, 2025 - Cantoni Therapeutics B.V. (‘Cantoni'), a biotech company spun out from Leiden University, developing best-in-class small molecule inhibitors of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT), a promising target for cardiometabolic diseases, today announced the closing of additional financing to advance its lead asset into IND enabling phase for obesity and its comorbidities. In preclinical studies, Cantoni's NNMT inhibitors have demonstrated an ability to reduce fat mass, without negatively impacting lean mass, and improve metabolic health through increased energy expenditure.
Furthermore, Cantoni was announced as winner of a Novo Nordisk validatioNN grant supporting translational research work on the mode of action of NNMT inhibition.
Annegret Van der Aa, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director at Cantoni, said: "This combined equity and loan financing, and the research grant from Novo Nordisk will help significantly as we progress towards our ultimate goal to validate NNMT as a novel target for obesity and its comorbidities in the clinic. This financial support is a strong validation of our approach, enabling us to start IND enabling studies."
Floris Hamel, Investment Manager at BOM, commented: "Cantoni's NNMT inhibition mechanism of action ...
