EIB Backs Polish company SDS Optic Inc. with €10 Million Investment in Cutting-Edge Cancer Detection Tech

(IN BRIEF) The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €10 million loan agreement with Polish company SDS Optic Inc. to support the development and commercialization of their innovative cancer detection technology platform, inPROBE®. SDS Optic specializes in diagnostic and monitoring devices, with a focus on faster and less invasive diagnostics. The EIB’s investment, made possible by the InvestEU program, will advance cutting-edge research and development in a less developed region of the EU, highlighting the bank’s commitment to equitable growth. This financing supports SDS Optic’s efforts to revolutionize healthcare diagnostics and treatment methods, including their groundbreaking inPROBE® HER2 breast cancer detection device.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 2-Oct-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union, announces that it has entered into a €10 million loan agreement with SDS Optic Inc., a Lublin-based Polish company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (NC:SDS). This collaboration is designed to propel the development and commercialization of the innovative diagnostic and monitoring photonic biosensing platform known as inPROBE®. Supported by the InvestEU program, which aims to stimulate over €372 billion in additional investment from 2021 to 2027, this initiative will advance state-of-the-art cancer detection technology.

Vice-President of the EIB, prof. Teresa Czerwińska said: “Supporting research and innovation is one of the priorities of the European Investment Bank and we are pleased to start co-operation with SDS Optic, an ambitious Polish company specializing in the development of innovative medical diagnostic devices. EIB financing will enable the company to continue its dynamic growth and develop new technologies that will speed up diagnostic processes for the wider social benefit.”

Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said: “With this investment backed by the InvestEU programme, we double down on our commitment to improve the quality of life for people affected by cancer. This agreement not only highlights our dedication to advance healthcare innovation but also strengthens Europe’s standing at the forefront of advanced health technology and cutting-edge medical devices.”

SDS Optic Inc. specializes in the development, production, and commercialization of groundbreaking diagnostic and monitoring devices, with a primary focus on improving healthcare providers’ access to faster, less invasive diagnostics and targeted treatment methods. Leveraging molecular biology, advanced photonic technologies, immunochemistry, and biomedical engineering, the company has achieved a significant milestone by creating the world’s first single-cell resolution immunoassay for real-time breast cancer diagnostics: the inPROBE® HER2 breast cancer detection device.

“Our vision is to develop innovative cancer diagnostics & monitoring technologies that will help increase the cancer survival rate by 30% by 2030. We strive to achieve that by creating and implementing real-time, in vivo and numerically based photonic technologies. There is no doubt, that the European Investment Bank’s financial support will significantly accelerate our development and allow us to new scale-up applications to the market much faster than we assumed. This is another proof of trust we are getting from the global, renowned Institution, after very restrict verification and acceptance of our scientific data and solutions” – said Marcin Staniszewski, SDS Optic CEO.

Recognizing the pivotal role of innovation, research and development, and human capital in economic growth, the EIB allocated €17.93 billion globally to support these sectors in 2022. Between 2018 and 2022, the EIB Group dedicated €4.65 billion to these sectors in Poland. Notably, the financing agreement with SDS Optic will contribute to advanced research activities in a less developed region of the European Union in terms of per-capita income, emphasizing the EIB’s commitment to fostering equitable growth and promoting territorial and social cohesion.

The EIB Group is the EU’s long-term financing institution, owned by its member states. It comprises of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF). The EIB Group finances  investments that contribute to EU policy goals, including social and territorial cohesion, and the just transition to climate neutrality.

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investments for the European Union’s policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The InvestEU programme brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.

SDS Optic Inc. develops, produces and commercializes unique diagnostics and monitoring tools on a global scale. The company merges vast medical knowledge with technical skills to create disruptive technologies that can revolutionize global healthcare. It is developing life-saving innovations which can help medical staff with real-time diagnoses. The company focuses on assisting healthcare providers with faster, less painful diagnostics and supports targeted, effective treatment procedures.

inPROBE, invented and developed by SDS Optic, is a device designed specifically to reduce cancer diagnostic time (from months to minutes), and increase precision and effects of advanced cancer treatments. An optical fiber tip, of only 6-micron wide in diameter, and covered with specific antibodies, is the prime basis for the InProbe technology. It can be used both in cancer diagnostics and therapies, and also in real-time drug delivery monitoring, in a natural state (in vivo), thus giving professionals a fast and efficient technology.

Media contact:

Katarzyna Karpiuk
k.karpiuk@ext.eib.org
+352 4379 – 70611

Press Office
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+352 4379 – 21000

SOURCE: European Investment Bank