Diamante and the EIC Accelerator: Plant-Grown Arthritis Therapy

Diamante, a benefit company in Verona founded by chief executive Valentina Garonzi, chief scientific officer Linda Avesani and Roberta Zampieri, uses plants as bioreactors to make nanoparticles from a modified plant virus, tomato bushy stunt virus, that display fragments of a patient's own proteins, aiming to restore immune tolerance in autoimmune disease instead of suppressing the immune system. Its EIC Accelerator project receives an EU contribution of €2,499,999 and runs from January 2025 to December 2026, according to CORDIS. Its aim is to "pursue clinical testing" of the lead candidate in rheumatoid arthritis, which in animal models produced "complete remission of arthritic symptoms", the company says.

In the first year, the report says, Diamante raised the yield of its purification process fivefold, produced a batch for toxicology studies in a GMP-like setting, hired a qualified person and a quality manager, and completed the in vitro part of its toxicology programme, which showed no toxic or inflammatory effects on human immune cells, according to CORDIS. The animal toxicology study was under way, with scientific advice sought from Spain's medicines agency AEMPS, and the Phase 1 design was finished and a clinical site audited. In June 2025 Diamante told investors that Phase 1 would start in the first or second quarter of 2026, according to the Italy at BIO 2025 catalogue. A search of the EU's CTIS register and ClinicalTrials.gov found no Diamante trial.

Where Diamante Stands Now

In its June 2025 pitch, Diamante said it had €3.5 million in non-dilutive funding and €7.4 million in "hard commitments by public investors", and was seeking a lead venture investor for a Series A of €1 million to €3 million by the end of 2025. It expected full GMP certification by the third quarter of 2025 and GLP toxicology in 2025. None of these milestones, nor the Series A close, has been announced since. Its Italian accounts were not accessible in free sources.

The Technology: Teaching the Immune System Tolerance

Rheumatoid arthritis drugs suppress the immune system broadly, with side effects, the EIC report notes. Antigen-specific immunotherapy instead presents the body's own target protein in a way that teaches the immune system to tolerate it. Diamante's plant virus particles, grown cheaply in plants, carry that antigen. The report cites 86 million people with rheumatoid arthritis worldwide.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The project runs to December 2026, so it is too early for a final judgement. Manufacturing and toxicology are progressing. The clinical testing that is the project's purpose has not visibly begun, and the company's own start date has passed.

1. Scalable productionDeliveredFivefold yield.
2. Toxicology programmeIn vitro doneAnimal phase ongoing.
3. Phase 1 trial, H1 2026Not registeredCTIS, ClinicalTrials.gov.
4. Series A lead investorNot announcedSought for Q4 2025.

The Money

Diamante has not broken down the €7.4 million of public commitments or said whether they include EIC equity, and the EIC Fund has not announced an investment. The company sought a private lead to unlock the round.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

A therapy that resets immune tolerance would change the treatment of autoimmune disease, and plant-based production could keep it cheap. Diamante is an Italian, female-led company with a novel approach. It needs its first human data to prove the concept.

The Verdict

Diamante and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.