ResoTher Pharma and the EIC Accelerator: Shielding the Heart

ResoTher Pharma, based in Holte near Copenhagen, develops RTP-026, an Annexin A1 mimetic invented at the William Harvey Research Institute of Queen Mary University of London, designed to resolve the inflammation that follows the reopening of a blocked artery in a heart attack and that itself damages heart muscle. It was selected in the EIC Accelerator's June 2023 cut-off and received an EU grant of €2.50 million for CardioProtectMI, a €3.77 million project that ran from February 2024 to January 2026, according to CORDIS. The aim was to validate RTP-026 in "a Phase IIa patient proof of principle study and Phase IIb proof of concept study". The award was "Grant first", which ResoTher said meant the project "will be considered for further support by the European Investment Bank upon completion of the Phase 2a study", and it aimed to start dosing in the first quarter of 2024, according to ResoTher Pharma.

The final report says "54 out of the planned 64 patients were enrolled within the project period" after recruitment "proved more challenging than initially anticipated", according to the CORDIS reporting page. The study was completed on 2 July 2026 with 66 patients, according to ClinicalTrials.gov. In September 2026 ResoTher announced that RTP-026 "was safe and well tolerated, with several parameters pointing towards a positive treatment effect on post-PCI infarct size and cardiac function", according to ResoTher Pharma. The Phase 2b study has not started.

Where ResoTher Pharma Stands Now

ResoTher had three employees on average in 2025, a net loss of DKK 9.3 million and cash of DKK 9.4 million at year end, after raising DKK 9.7 million in new equity, according to its annual accounts filed with the Danish Business Authority. Its accumulated deficit reached DKK 85 million. The company says its next step is "a larger, international phase IIb study", and that positive results could support a partnership, licensing deal or sale to a larger drug company, according to BioStock, in an article marked as sponsored content. No funding for that trial has been announced.

The Technology: Resolving, Not Suppressing, Inflammation

In a heart attack, doctors reopen the blocked artery with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), but the returning blood triggers inflammation that damages more heart muscle, known as reperfusion injury. Instead of broadly suppressing the immune system, RTP-026 is designed to push the inflammatory response towards resolution. ResoTher's report cites preclinical data pointing to a reduction of more than 20% in heart failure after a heart attack, and a Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers preceded the EIC project.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

Dosing began in mid-2024, later than the first quarter planned. The Phase 2a was randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled, with two dose groups. The drug arms did better than placebo on several measures: troponin T, a marker of heart muscle injury, rose 615% on placebo in the first 24 hours against 129% and 65% in the two drug groups, and median infarct size at day 90 was 6.6 and 8.7 grams against 9.3 grams, according to BioStock. Patients on the drug started sicker than those on placebo. The study was not powered to show statistical significance, so these are exploratory signals. The Phase 2b, the trial that would test whether the effect is real, has not begun.

1. Phase 2a completedDelivered66 patients, July 2026.
2. Safety in patientsDeliveredNo deaths or AE dropouts.
3. Efficacy signalsExploratoryNot powered.
4. Phase 2b studyNot startedNot funded.

The Money

The EU paid 66% of the €3.77 million project. ResoTher lost DKK 37 million from 2023 to 2025, and its cash at the end of 2025 roughly matched one year of losses. The company has said it received earlier non-dilutive funding from the Danish Innovation Fund and Barts Charity. A Phase 2b trial needs a partner or a large funding round; none has been announced.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

Ischaemic heart disease kills more than 1.7 million people a year in the EU, the report says, and heart failure is the main cause of death after a heart attack. There is no established therapy specifically designed to treat the inflammation-driven damage after PCI, BioStock notes. ResoTher's early data give the EIC's investment a real chance of mattering, but only if the company can fund the next trial.

The Verdict

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