MILAN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 17, 2026--
WISE S.p.A., a pioneering medical device company specializing in advanced implantable electrodes for neuromonitoring, neuromodulation, and brain-computer interface (BCI), today announced the successful closing of an oversubscribed Series D financing round totaling €30 million. The round was joined by ENEA Tech and Biomedical, an Italian foundation dedicated to innovation and technology transfer in the biomedical sector, which enters WISE's investor base as a strategic partner. This final closing builds on the first closing of the round completed in June 2024, which included a venture debt facility from the European Investment Bank (EIB) supported by InvestEU, alongside an equity investment from new investor Wallaby S.p.A. — the family office of the Scagliarini family (GVS S.p.A.) — and existing financial partners New Frontier S.r.l., Eureka Venture SGR, and Indaco Ventures SGR.
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Accelerating the Heron® Lead to Clinical Adoption
The primary use of the proceeds is to advance the development and clinical adoption of the Heron® lead, WISE's flagship product for spinal cord stimulation (SCS). The Heron® lead is the first SCS lead designed to deliver targeted, directional stimulation through a minimally invasive percutaneous implant technique — uniquely combining the therapeutic precision of surgical paddle leads with the lower procedural burden of cylindrical leads. This dual advantage translates into higher energy efficiency, better anatomical coverage, improved neural signal sensing, and reduced lead migration, representing a significant step forward in the treatment of chronic pain.
Proceeds will fund the Heron® lead’s regulatory certification pathway and first-in-human study, while also driving the commercial scale-up of WISE's full electrode portfolio across target markets.
A Differentiated Platform for Next-Generation Neurotechnology
WISE's proprietary Supersonic Technology enables the production of implantable electrodes and BCI systems consisting of stretchable electronic circuits integrated into ultra-thin elastomeric foils. Compared to conventional rigid electrodes, WISE's devices deliver superior tissue conformability, softness, and adhesion — qualities that are critical to both safety and therapeutic efficacy in neuromonitoring and neurostimulation applications. These unique characteristics of WISE's technology also enable enhanced precision in neural signal acquisition and stimulation, positioning WISE at the forefront of next-generation neural interfacing.
Alongside the Heron® lead, the round will support expanded commercialization of the WISE Cortical Strip (WCS®), the first soft, stretchable electrode for intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) during brain tumor and epilepsy surgeries. The WCS® holds CE mark under MDR — the first cortical strip for IONM to achieve this certification — as well as FDA clearance and is commercially available in Europe, USA, and Australia.
Strengthening WISE's Governance
The round's closing also brings the appointment of Laura Iris Ferro as Chairperson of the company and the addition of Giuseppe Corvino to the Board of Directors. Laura Iris Ferro is one of the most prominent leaders in Italian and European biotech: founder of Gentium, a Nasdaq-listed company acquired in 2014 by Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a transaction worth approximately USD 1 billion, she is today President and co-founder of Bio4Dreams and holds leadership and investment roles across numerous innovative companies in the Life Sciences sector.
“The oversubscription of this Series D round is a testament to the strength of what our team has built — in technology, in medical research, and in our relationships with clinicians and partners,” said Luca Ravagnan, Chief Executive Officer of WISE. “Welcoming ENEA Tech and Biomedical into our investor base strengthens our mission to bring genuinely transformative neurotechnology to patients worldwide. With the Heron® lead, we are targeting a multi-billion-euro market with a product that addresses a long-lasting unmet clinical need. This financing gives us the resources to complete the journey from bench to bedside.”
“WISE represents a compelling convergence of advanced materials science, neuroscience, and clinical innovation,” commented Laura Iris Ferro, Chairperson of WISE. “Welcoming ENEA Tech and Biomedical on board is a testament to the strength of what WISE has built. I am proud to help the company scale its technology and bring high-impact solutions to patients with neurological conditions and chronic pain.”
About Wise Spa and Enea Tech and Biomedical
WCS: wise cortical strip
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key rate unchanged Wednesday yet almost half the central bank’s policymakers said they could support a rate hike later this year.
The unexpectedly aggressive tilt toward higher rates would disappoint President Trump and suggests heightened concerns about persistent inflation among Fed officials.
In an unusually short statement after their two-day meeting, the officials dropped language that had suggested their next move would be to cut the key rate. The brief statement reflects the influence of new chair Kevin Warsh, appointed by Trump, who has previously criticized the Fed for commenting too broadly on the economy.
Still, Warsh's 18 colleagues on the Fed’s rate-setting committee sent a clear message in a set of quarterly projections released Wednesday: Nine signaled they supported higher rates this year, with six of those supporting two quarter-point increases. It’s a sharp change from March, when no policymakers penciled in a hike and the committee as a whole forecast one cut in 2026. The change is an acknowledgement that inflation is at its highest level in three years and many officials have said in recent speeches that if inflation doesn’t decline, higher rates may be necessary in the coming months.
All told, another eight officials signaled they would support keeping the rate unchanged, and one penciled in a cut. Warsh did not submit a forecast for how the Fed might change its key rate. He said he encouraged his colleagues to do so, but he has previously criticized the projections for potentially locking the Fed into a specific policy outlook. The Fed also struck forward guidance from its policy statement.
Warsh also told reporters at a press conference that he is forming five task forces to examine such areas as how the Fed communicates, the sources of data it uses in making policy decisions, and the frameworks it uses to evaluate inflation, all with the goal of making sure the Fed is “clear-eyed and focused on the future.”
Wednesday’s policy meeting was the first for Warsh, who was appointed by Trump after the president sharply criticized Warsh’s predecessor, Jerome Powell, for not reducing rates deeply enough. The attacks largely backfired because they prompted Powell to stay on the Fed’s governing board, where he voted Wednesday in favor of keeping rates at about 3.6%.
Warsh now faces a difficult choice: The Fed typically seeks to combat inflation by lifting interest rates to slow borrowing and spending and cool the economy. Yet taking such a step would likely attract the ire of the White House, and could lift the cost of mortgages, auto loans, and other borrowing, just before the midterm elections.
If the Iran war is resolved, gas prices will likely continue to decline and inflation may cool in the coming months. But prices of many goods and services — such as clothes, dental care, and child care — were rising before the Iran war, and inflation has been above the Fed’s 2% target for five years, suggesting that there may still be inflationary pressures in the economy.
Warsh repeatedly stressed that Fed officials committed to delivering price stability.
“We’ve missed (on inflation) for five years and we’re gonna fix that,” he said.
Warsh also faces a sharply different economic environment than when he appeared to campaign for the job of Fed chair last year. Back then, he was outspoken in favor of lower interest rates, as Trump has demanded. He pointed to the development of AI as a technology that could vastly expand the economy's ability to produce goods and services cheaply, which would over time bring down inflation.
Even then, many economists were skeptical of his claim. At least in the short run, analysts note that soaring investment in semiconductors and computing equipment is contributing to higher inflation.
Indeed, since the Iran war began Feb. 28, inflation has accelerated to a three-year high of 4.2%, lifted mostly by costlier gas stemming from the Iran war. The Fed typically fights higher inflation by raising its key interest rate to cool spending and growth.
Trump has announced an initial peace agreement that could bring the three-month conflict to an end, but it's not clear if peace will hold. And even if oil flows freely out of the Middle East again, it could take months for prices of gas, groceries, and items such as airline fares, to cool.
At the same time, hiring has picked up in recent months, removing a key rationale for cutting rates. In January, the Fed forecast that it would reduce rates twice this year, as part of its quarterly economic projections. A big reason for those potential cuts is that employers were shedding jobs and policymakers worried that the unemployment rate would rise. The central bank typically cuts its key rate to spur economic growth and hiring.
But earlier this month a government report showed that hiring jumped in May, when employers added 172,000 jobs, the third straight month of solid job gains.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 1.4% after the release of the Fed officials' rate expectations. When asked whether changes, such as revising what’s included in the economic projections, could spook markets, Warsh said, “I think financial markets perform best when they react to incoming data. They work less effectively when they ask, ‘How will the Federal Reserve react to that information?’”
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh speaks during a news conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Wednesday, June 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh speaks during a news conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Wednesday, June 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh speaks during a news conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Wednesday, June 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh speaks during a news conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Wednesday, June 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
