Aplagon and the EIC Accelerator: A Drug for Blocked Leg Arteries

When blocked leg arteries are reopened, about a third narrow again despite anti-clotting drugs, according to Aplagon. The company, a Helsinki company, is developing APAC, a drug designed to attach to the injured vessel wall and act there against both clotting and inflammation. Its first target is peripheral arterial occlusive disease in its most severe form, chronic limb-threatening ischaemia, which Aplagon says has a 25% mortality rate in the first year.

The European Innovation Council granted €2,099,388 towards APAC-ON, a €3.0 million project that ran from September 2022 to February 2025. According to the CORDIS report, it completed a Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers, manufactured clinical batches, received scientific advice from the European Medicines Agency and started a PET-imaging study in patients. The EIC Fund then co-led a €7 million round in 2025 and joined a €4.8 million round in 2026. The first patient in the Phase 2a HEALING trial was dosed in March 2026.

Where Aplagon Stands Today

In March 2026 Aplagon dosed the first patient in HEALING, a Phase 2a trial in Finland of up to 42 patients with chronic limb-threatening ischaemia, testing single and repeated intravenous doses. In June 2026 it announced €4.8 million from its existing investors, including the EIC Fund, to broaden Phase 2 work to a second indication: arteriovenous fistulas, the vessel connections created for kidney dialysis, which often fail to mature. It said more than 70 participants had received APAC so far.

The Technology: A Drug That Sticks Where It Is Needed

According to the CORDIS report, APAC is designed to give a "local, long-term antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory effect" at sites of vascular injury, with the aim of reducing amputations, repeat procedures and hospital stays. The 2024 CHASE study in the Netherlands labelled APAC with a radioactive tracer to see, in PET scans of 6 patients and 4 healthy volunteers, where the drug goes in the body after an intravenous dose.

What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows

The project promised "the first targeted therapy for peripheral arterial occlusive disease". Within it, Aplagon produced clinical batches and an improved formulation, completed the healthy-volunteer Phase 1, won approval for the PET study and received EMA scientific advice. The report says the €7 million round allowed a Phase 2a study "more extensive" than originally planned. Patient efficacy, the part that decides whether APAC is a therapy, was outside the project and has not been reported.

1. Clinical manufacturingDeliveredTwo batches released.
2. Phase 1 safety studyDeliveredHealthy volunteers completed.
3. Follow-on financingDelivered€7M led by FSG and EIC Fund.
4. Efficacy in patientsNot yetPhase 2a began March 2026.

What Has Happened Since the Award

The Money

Aplagon is a very small company. The filed accounts summarised by Asiakastieto show no revenue, one to three employees between 2021 and 2024, and operating losses of about €0.9 to €1.1 million a year until 2025, when the loss rose to €1.76 million as the trials expanded; the equity ratio was 42% at the end of 2025. It had raised €11.5 million by May 2021, before the 2025 and 2026 rounds.

Why Europe Should Care

The EIC funded a Finnish drug developer through its move from the lab into people, and then invested alongside Nordic foundations and venture funds. The public return will depend on Phase 2 results that are still to come.

The Verdict

Aplagon has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on company statements, Finnish company data and EU project data, linked throughout.