Lionhealth, a start-up and benefit company that develops innovative food for special medical purposes for patients with malnutrition related to severe diseases such as chronic inflammatory bowel disease-MICI, rare diseases, oncology and Alzheimer’s, announces that it has closed a EUR 3 million funding round.
The round, led by Vikivi, the holding company of Lionhealth’s founder, active in asset management and investments in start-ups, saw the participation of Doorway, which invested over EUR 600,000, the American investor Lenny Delligatti and Emilbanca. Also participating in the round were industry entrepreneurs and managers of large companies, mainly in the lifescience sector, such as Riccardo Ballerini, Claudia Benelli, Cristian D’Ippolito, Barbara Marini, Giovanni Pedranzini and Linda Vancini, and serial investors such as Dario Calogero, Veronica Mariani, Renate König, Luca Fachini and Massimo Chistolini.
The deal was structured through the SAFE (simple agreement for future equity), a financial instrument that addresses the financing needs of early-stage start-ups by allowing investors to participate in the company’s future capital without immediately determining a specific valuation.
The money raised by Lionhealth with this round will be used to support the growth of the team, to support the launch of the first product in Italy and the development of the second product to be launched in Q1 2026. Prior to this round, Lionhealth had raised more than EUR 1.2 million, with 90% of the investments attributable to the founder, and the rest to shareholders, while the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) was approved for 5%.
Lionhealth was born with the acquisition in 2022 of the spin-off of the Policlinico Gemelli of Rome ‘Gemelli health System’ on the initiative of Paola Lanati, entrepreneur, business angel and vice president of Italian Angels for Biotech (IAB), with the aim of combating malnutrition associated with serious diseases, with patent-protected products, dedicated to the needs of individual patients, combining the best scientific evidence with natural extracts, to generate mixtures of ingredients with antioxidant activity, capable of meeting the nutritional and dietary needs of patients suffering from rare diseases, oncological pathologies and Alzheimer’s, whose nutritional requirements cannot be met by normal foods, complementing medical treatments. the business model is linked to the reimbursed market driven by the prescription of medical experts. In 2023, it allocated 36% of its investments to research and development, rising to 40% in 2024.
Lionhealth’s scientific committee is made up of professionals such as Alessandro Armuzzi (Humanitas Research Hospital), Riccardo Caccialanza (Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo), Antonio Gasbarrini (Full Professor of Internal Medicine, IRCCS Policlinico Gemelli Rome), Salvo Leone (General Director of Associazione AMICI Italia), Maurizio Muscaritoli (Policlinico Umberto I, Rome and President SINUC) and Carmine Pinto (Comprehensive Cancer Centre, AUSL-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia).
‘I am delighted that this raising, made in just three months, has been supported mainly by entrepreneurs in the industry or investors who recognise the potential of this market and the track record of the founder,’ Paola Lanati, founder of Lionhealth (pictured here with the team), says in a note. ‘Our goal is to build a market-leading company at European level in the medical nutrition sector, concentrating on the segment of special medical foods to combat malnutrition in patients suffering from chronic diseases, with a portfolio of products specialised on the specific needs of individual diseases, and based on mixtures of ingredients with antioxidant action, which are patented. The regulated market, driven by the doctor’s prescription, and the chronic nature of the disease, make the growth potential very interesting when you consider that we are starting from a primary health need, which is very strong but whose sensitivity is still low today. The first numbers tell us that we have developed the best product on the market, in the treatment of malnutrition in patients suffering from chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with a research and development model that sees the strong involvement of leading Italian universities, research centres and experts’.
“We are very happy with the outcome of the fundraising campaign for Lionhealth, which saw more than 50 investors from our community sign up for a total of more than EUR 600,000, and 30% of the Doorway investors who participated in the Lionhealth round were women. The success of the operation confirms the interest in high-impact solutions and reaffirms the quality of our selection process. We are particularly proud to support a founder like Elena Paola Lanati, whose entrepreneurial path reflects the values in which Doorway believes: innovation, sustainability and female empowerment,’ adds Antonella Grassigli, CEO and co-founder of Doorway.
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