Fabentech Secures €20 Million EIB Loan to Bolster Pandemic Preparedness and Biological Threat Response

Fabentech Secures €20 Million EIB Loan to Bolster Pandemic Preparedness and Biological Threat Response

(IN BRIEF) Fabentech, a French biopharmaceutical company, has secured a €20 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) through the HERA Invest initiative. The funding will support Fabentech’s research, bioproduction, and expansion of its FabShield® technology, which focuses on developing treatments for biological threats such as viruses and toxins. The initiative aims to strengthen Europe’s preparedness for pandemics and other health crises, with the loan being part of a broader effort to enhance health security. This partnership will accelerate Fabentech’s R&D programs and help meet growing global demand for biodefense solutions.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 7-Oct-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — Fabentech, a French biopharmaceutical company specializing in countermeasures against biological threats, has secured a €20 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) under the HERA Invest initiative. This funding, supported by the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), aims to accelerate Fabentech’s research, bioproduction, and commercialization efforts in developing treatments for high-priority biological threats, including pandemics and deliberate biological attacks. The funds will also help expand the company’s global presence to meet growing international demand.

Fabentech’s FabShield® technology platform, which produces broad-spectrum polyclonal antibody fragments, is designed to neutralize a range of deadly viruses and toxins, making it an essential tool for pandemic preparedness and biodefense. With six ongoing R&D programs targeting top-priority pathogens, this strategic investment will enhance Fabentech’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to future public health emergencies.

The HERA Invest initiative, funded by EU4Health and implemented by the EIB, supports projects addressing pathogens with pandemic potential, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, and antimicrobial resistance. The €20 million loan is part of a broader €100 million initiative aimed at strengthening Europe’s capacity to respond to health crises.

Laurent Muschel, Director-General of HERA, emphasized the importance of partnerships with companies like Fabentech to ensure Europe’s preparedness for future crises. Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President of the EIB, highlighted the critical role of innovation in enhancing health security across the continent.

Sébastien Iva, CEO of Fabentech, expressed gratitude for the funding, which will accelerate the company’s initiatives and broaden its impact on global health security.

Background information

About EIB:

The European Investment bank is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Its mission is to strengthen the integration, balanced development and economic and social cohesion of the European Union. It borrows large volumes of funds on the capital markets and lends them on very favorable terms to support projects furthering EU policy objectives. The EIB is working to put the European Union at the forefront of the next wave of innovation, especially in the health sector. In response to the COVID-19 health crisis, it released more than €6 billion for investments in the health sector to support medical infrastructure, additional research activities, and the development of vaccines and treatments. As the EU climate bank, the EIB is one of the main providers of finance in the green transition towards a more sustainable, low-carbon growth model.

About Fabentech:

Founded in 2009 and based in Lyon, Fabentech is a biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development, production and marketing of polyclonal antibodies for responding to emergency situations.

Specializing in biothreats and working in close partnership with the European Authorities, the company’s goal is to build a domestic and European shield against the biological threats that are the greatest risk to public health by producing and marketing targeted antidotes to be stocked preventively.

The polyclonal antibody technology used by Fabentech holds great potential for the development of antidotes against bioterrorist attacks and treatments for numerous infectious diseases. Fabentech has 50 staff and is financially supported by prestigious shareholders such as Definvest and Institut Mérieux.

About HERA:

HERA is a division of the European Commission created in September 2021. Its mission is to prevent, detect and respond to health emergencies, in particular by ensuring the development, manufacture, procurement and distribution of essential medical countermeasures to fill any potential gaps in availability and accessibility.

About HERA Invest Programme:

HERA Invest is one of HERA’s flagship initiatives. It is a €100 million top-up to the InvestEU programme, funded by the EU4Health programme that aims to support research and development of medical countermeasures against the most pressing cross-border health threats.

Currently, European companies find it difficult to access sufficient public and private funding for the development and scaling up of cutting-edge solutions in health and life sciences. Innovation, however, is needed to respond to priority health threats such as pathogens with high pandemic potential or resistance to antibiotics.

HERA Invest is helping to meet these challenges by:

• promoting R&D in Europe to strengthen strategic autonomy;
• leveraging public funding to incentivise private investment;
• creating new medical countermeasures to enhance protection against health threats.

HERA Invest is geared towards small and mid-sized companies (SMEs) that develop medical countermeasures addressing one of the following health threats:

• pathogens with pandemic or epidemic potential;
• chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats originating from accidental or deliberate release;
• antimicrobial resistance.

Media Contact:

Christophe Alix
c.alix@eib.org
+352 4379 – 84303

Press Office

press@eib.org
+352 43791

SOURCE: European Investment Bank