BRIEF—EIB loan for Bavarian Nordic

The European Union is supporting Danish biotech company Bavarian Nordic with a 30 million-euro ($34.7 million) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The loan is guaranteed under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe, in which the EIB is the European Commission’s strategic partner.

Bavarian Nordic will use the funding to build and furnish a fill-and-finish-facility on its existing production site in Kvistgård, Denmark, allowing the accelerated deployment of advanced biotechnological manufacturing processes and technologies for the production of vaccines. The financing will cover part of the capital expenditure on the project, which runs from 2018 to 2020.

“This is one of those examples where European companies are truly innovative." said EIB vice president Alexander Stubb, adding: “When we think of European security we often forget that biohazards and diseases pose a very real threat, making vaccines all the more important. The EIB’s financing will allow Bavarian Nordic to expand, thus reinforcing European life science business as well as contributing to the European Security Initiative in defending against potential bioterrorism threats.”

“Infectious diseases and bioterrorism remain top threats to public health in Europe and around the world,” said Paul Chapling, president and chief executive of Bavarian Nordic. “The non-dilutive financing from the European Investment Bank provides us with the flexibility to enhance our manufacturing capabilities while continuing to focus on our first-class vaccine research and development,” he noted.