Biograil raises €20 million for capsule that could replace injections

Biograil, a Copenhagen biotech start-up developing a swallowable capsule that could replace some injections, has raised €20 million in a new financing round, it announced on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. The round includes Verve Ventures, Megatrend Invest and HTGF Opportunity, the growth fund of the German investor HTGF, according to reports. Biograil's device is a capsule that delivers medicines into the wall of the stomach, so that drugs which today have to be injected could instead be taken by mouth. The company said the money will be used to prepare for its first human trials, known as Phase 1, by completing the required non-clinical safety studies and setting up a manufacturing process to medical standards.

Many modern medicines, especially those made of proteins and peptides, cannot simply be swallowed as tablets because the stomach breaks them down before they can work. Patients therefore have to inject them, sometimes every day or every week. A device that gets such drugs safely into the body through the stomach wall could make treatment easier and could help people who find regular injections difficult.

Biograil's approach is to put the medicine inside a capsule that, once swallowed, delivers it into the lining of the stomach. The company is still at the pre-clinical stage, which means it has not yet tested the device in people. This round is meant to take it to the starting line for human trials: regulators require safety studies done under GLP rules and a manufacturing process under GMP rules before a first trial can begin.

The investors suggest serious interest in the idea. Verve Ventures led the company's earlier round, and one report lists drug and materials companies, including Eli Lilly and Co. and Evonik's venture arm, among the backers. That list of investors appears in only one report, however, so it should be treated with caution.

For patients and drug makers everywhere, including in India, the device is one to follow. Biograil's device is still years from patients, and its success depends on trials that have not yet started.

Peepals calculation: The new €20 million is about 2.4 times the €8.5 million first close of July 2025 (20 ÷ 8.5 ≈ 2.35). Taken together, the two reported amounts come to €28.5 million (20 + 8.5), although the full size of the 2025 round after its first close was not reported. The time between the two announcements is about 16 months. Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: Biograil will run the safety studies and set up the manufacturing process needed before human testing.

Long-term: If trials succeed, drugs that now require injections could be given as capsules, which could change how some long-term conditions are treated. If they fail, the approach may not reach patients.

Who is affected: Patients who rely on regular injections; drug makers looking for oral alternatives; Biograil's investors; and researchers in drug delivery.

What to watch next: Biograil's preparations for Phase 1 trials and its further financing round expected in 2027.

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