Startup · $109m raised · Biotech and pharma
Antiviral nasal spray to prevent severe respiratory viral infections
Melbourne, VIC
Programs: Biointelect Venturer · Biointelect Venturer (The Venturer) · Brandon BioCatalyst (CUREator)
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round ENA Respiratory raised.
| Investor | Rounds | Invested |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Government | Series A | - |
| AustralianSuper | Series A | - |
| Bill Gates | Series B | - |
| Biointelect Venturer | Grant · Accelerator | $2,980,000 |
| Brandon BioCatalyst | Accelerator · Grant | - |
| Brandon Capital | Accelerator · Series B · Unnamed stage | - |
| Brandon Capital Partners | Unnamed stage · Series A | - |
| CSL | Series A | - |
| Federal Government | Series A | - |
| Flu Lab | Series B · Unnamed stage | $7,970,000 |
| Gates Foundation | Series B | - |
| HESTA | Series A | - |
| Hostplus | Series A | - |
| Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF) | Series A | - |
| Minderoo Foundation | Unnamed stage | - |
| NRF Corporation | Accelerator | - |
| StatewideSuper | Series A | - |
| Stoic Venture Capital | Series B | - |
| the federal government | Series A | - |
| U.S. Department of Defense | Grant · Grant · Grant | $37,240,000 |
| Uniseed | Series B · Unnamed stage · Series A | - |
| US Defense Innovation Unit | Grant | - |
Companies ENA Respiratory acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
Stories naming ENA Respiratory. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Melbourne biotech ENA Respiratory has begun dosing participants in the second part of its Phase IIa trial of INNA-051; its investor lineup, past government funding awards and BLUE KNIGHT alumni status are recapped.
Data page reporting Visaible.ai's $1 million seed raise from August 2026; the Sydney hotel-booking platform's founder Sam Rich previously worked at Bain and Goldman Sachs.
Profile of Australian battery-recycling company Renewable Metals, reporting its oversubscribed $12 million Series A with CEFC and Virescent Ventures leading, founder and CEO Luan Atkinson, and chair Peter Beaven.
Australian biotech ENA Respiratory, whose INNA-051 nasal spray targets respiratory viruses, has been granted $2.98 million via the Biointelect Venturer program to fund a trial in adults with asthma.
Brandon Capital has put roughly $60 million of National Reconstruction Fund money into ten biotech companies and warns R&D tax changes would hurt deep tech; portfolio company Myricx Bio went to Novartis.
Also australiatimes.com
An Australian infectious-disease incubator has selected six local biotechs to divide $10.48 million from its inaugural funding round, pairing non-dilutive cash with commercialisation support; the program is backed by an earlier MRFF grant.
Datapile logs an $8.6 million raise by Sydney vascular-ultrasound startup Vexev, led by TreeArc Investment Group with TEN13 among four backers, earmarked for regulatory approval and clinical rollout.
Also datapile.co·Cut Through Venture·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Dealroom·Forbes Australia·fundedstartupsdaily.com
Melbourne-based ENA Respiratory announced US patent allowances covering its TLR2 agonist platform and a COPD treatment method, strengthening IP protection for its INNA-051 nasal spray candidate now in Phase II testing.
Uniseed's site carries a short announcement that ENA Respiratory has added Melissa Faris to its board of directors.
Melbourne biotech ENA Respiratory has begun dosing volunteers in a mid-stage trial of its INNA-051 antiviral spray, aimed at limiting common viral illnesses in at-risk groups.
Weekly funding roundup covering eight raises totalling over $113 million across aerospace, biotech, materials, health and software, plus a pharmacy firm's acquisition out of administration.
Weekly roundup of eight trans-Tasman startup raises worth a combined $113 million-plus, alongside Joe Zhou's buyout of StrongRoom AI from administrators.
Uniseed chief executive Peter Devine departs after two decades; Monash's Alistair Hick takes over in 2026. The piece recounts Uniseed's fund history and recent stakes in ENA Respiratory and Morse Micro rounds.
A profile of Brandon Capital partner Chris Smith, tracing his path from immunology research and a Cambridge postdoc into biotech investing, with resilience lessons drawn from equestrian sport and companies Aravax and ENA Respiratory.
A profile of ENA Respiratory traces its INNA-051 immune-boosting nasal spray from an accidental lab finding to Phase 2 trials, noting AUD 49 million in funding, a US Defence contract and Flu Lab investment.
Melbourne pharmaceutical company ENA Respiratory has received US$5 million from California's Flu Lab to advance clinical testing of its nasal immune-boosting antiviral candidate INNA-051.
Melbourne's ENA Respiratory has won a further US$3.18 million US Defense Department contract to widen its INNA-051 Phase Ib trial to younger adults, extending the US$8.18 million the agency had already committed.
Also Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·enarespiratory.com
CUREator, Brandon BioCatalyst's government-backed grant program, has awarded $7.21 million across eight Australian biotech firms in its newest round, split between clinical-stage and preclinical recipients.
Also Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·Startup Daily·ausceleratesa.org
AI search startup Marqo has landed a $12.5 million Series A and is relocating its headquarters to San Francisco, while LaunchVic statistics show Victoria's ecosystem grew in value despite a funding drop.
Drug developer ENA Respiratory reports positive Phase 2a results for its INNA-051 nasal immunomodulator against influenza, with its Series A backed by Brandon Capital managed funds, the Minderoo Foundation and Uniseed.
ENA Respiratory receives a USD 4.38 million U.S. Department of Defense agreement to develop an intranasal dry powder antiviral; its past Series A backers are also recalled.
Antiviral nasal spray developer ENA Respiratory has joined the Blue Knight program run by JLABS and BARDA, the first Australian company selected; background notes recall its Series A backing by Brandon Capital, Minderoo Foundation and Uniseed.
Brandon Capital reports that ENA Respiratory has become the first Australian company chosen for BLUE KNIGHT, a JLABS-BARDA initiative supporting its intranasal broad-spectrum antiviral spray INNA-051.
ENA Respiratory has begun a Phase 2a influenza-challenge trial in the UK of its INNA-051 antiviral nasal spray; the article also recalls its Series A backing by Brandon Capital, Minderoo Foundation and Uniseed.
ENA Respiratory has begun dosing healthy adults in a UK influenza challenge trial of its INNA-051 antiviral nasal spray, with a COVID-19 study to follow; the release also notes the company's earlier Series A backing.
Biotech firm ENA Respiratory has contracted PPD and hVIVO to run Phase 2 trials of its INNA-051 nasal spray, which aims to prevent COVID-19 and other respiratory viral infections, after encouraging Phase 1 safety results.
Biotech firm ENA Respiratory has contracted research organisations PPD and hVIVO to run Phase 2 trials of its INNA-051 nasal spray, following encouraging Phase 1 safety results, with participant recruitment expected from January 2022.
Weekly funding wrap covering several raises including Honey Insurance's record seed round, OCR Labs' Series A, and Ena Respiratory's COVID-19 nasal spray funding, plus Investible's second fund first close.
Australian biotech ENA Respiratory raised funding led by Brandon Capital and Minderoo Foundation to advance its Covid-19 nasal spray toward the clinic, and appointed Ruth Tal-Singer to its board.
ENA Respiratory secured up to AU$32 million, co-led by Brandon Capital Partners and Minderoo Foundation with Uniseed, to advance its INNA-051 nasal spray, and appointed Ruth Tal-Singer to its board.
Also Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·SmartCompany·SmartCompany
Index of the venture firm's portfolio updates: financing rounds for AdvanCell and ENA Respiratory, grant awards via incubator programs, two closes of Fund Six, board hires, and Myricx Bio's completed sale to Novartis.
Also Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·Uniseed·Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·Cut Through Venture·SmartCompany·AFR Technology·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·finance.yahoo.com·enarespiratory.com·Mirage News·Forbes Australia·advancell.com.au·Forbes Australia·datapile.co·Dealroom·Forbes Australia·datapile.co·Biotech Dispatch·fundedstartupsdaily.com·fundedstartupsdaily.com·Forbes Australia
Ferret research found Ena Respiratory's INNA-051 nasal spray sharply lowered coronavirus levels; the biotech has banked an $11.7 million Series A and aims to begin human trials within months.
Also Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio