EIB Lends €20 Million to Biotech Company for Development of Biopharmaceuticals to Treat Cancer and Inflammatory Diseases

• The EIB will provide a €20 million loan to Swedish biopharmaceutical company Affibody.
• The EIB loan will finance the research and development of next-generation biopharmaceuticals against cancer and inflammatory diseases.
• This agreement is supported by the InvestEU programme.

The European Investment Bank (EIB), backed by the InvestEU programme, has announced it has provided a €20 million venture debt loan facility to Affibody. Affibody is a Swedish clinical stage biotech company. It specialises in the development of next-generation biopharmaceuticals based on a proprietary technology, targeting unmet medical needs in immunology and oncology.

The investment will support Affibody’s research and development (R&D) activities in Europe in next-generation biopharmaceuticals to treat inflammatory diseases and cancer. It is expected to create over 100 jobs in this sector, and to boost the competitiveness of the EU biotech sector.

Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy, said: “Facilitating the development of innovative treatments to tackle cancer and other serious diseases is among the worthiest investments we can make. This agreement, supported by InvestEU, is a further step towards ensuring Europe remains at the cutting edge of medical research and development.”

EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros, responsible for Sweden, said:“Supporting promising biotech companies in the clinical stage is crucial for furthering the competitiveness of Europe’s health and life sciences sector. This project is well aligned with the EIB’s investment strategy and our aim to support highly innovative biotech companies, developing breakthrough life sciences products that have the potential to transform and greatly improve people’s lives. As such, we are pleased to support Affibody’s cutting-edge research into therapeutic solutions for cancer and inflammatory diseases, helping the company develop next-generation biopharmaceuticals.”

Chief Executive Officer of Affibody David Bejker said: “We are very pleased and grateful for the support of the EIB, which will help us move towards the first potential market approvals of a new class of biologicals that can improve and prolong the lives of a number of patient groups.”

Source: European Investment Bank (EIB)