- Supported by leading healthcare specialist and VC investors
- Allegro prepares for clinical trial with hydrocelin osteoarthritis treatment in 2026
Liege, Belgium – 3 July 2025 – Allegro NV, a biomedical company developing transformative nanotechnology-based treatments for degenerative joint disease, has successfully raised €2 million in new funding, showing the strong commitment of core investors to develop hydrocelin as a potentially disease-modifying non-invasive treatment for osteoarthritis. Allegro will use the proceeds of the funding round to prepare hydrocelin for a feasibility study in patients with osteoarthritis in 2026, which will be followed by a global registrational trial.
Participants in the financing round were Annie Vereecken, a member of Allegro’s Board of Directors where she represents Heran B.V., a leading biotech investor; Noshaq S.A., a specialized life sciences investment manager from Liege, Jürgen Ingels, a Belgian serial entrepreneur and the founder of Smartfin, a leading European venture capital investor, and Piet Van Waes, partner at Belgian investment company Tilleghem.
“I am grateful for the trust in Allegro’s mission that our investors are showing with this capital commitment, which enables us to prepare hydrocelin for a feasibility study next year. We are working hard to provide patients with a potentially disease-modifying, non-invasive treatment for osteoarthritis, a prevalent disease for which there are limited effective non-invasive therapeutic options today,” said Lucas Decuypere, Chief Executive Officer of Allegro.
Allegro’s hydrocelin contains cross-linked microparticles that are designed to act as tiny shock absorbers in the synovial fluid of joints affected by osteoarthritis. Restoring the shock-absorbing capacity of the synovial fluid is intended to provide pain relief and protect cartilage. The product is designed to be administered by injection once yearly. In April, Allegro presented positive preclinical data demonstrating the satisfactory safety profile of hydrocelin at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (WCO) in Rome. In addition to this pyrogenicity study, the company has found a satisfactory safety record in preclinical studies assessing irritation, delayed sensitization and systemic toxicity. In February, the company was awarded the Companion Animals Prize from more than 160 applicants at the prestigious Animal Health Europe 2025 Conference (AHNTI) in London.