French biopharmaceutical company Fabentech is to receive a €20 million loan under the EU’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) Invest programme, in partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB). The funding will support the company’s development and deployment of broad-spectrum therapeutics aimed at combating biological threats to public health.
During July 2022 the HERA Board agreed on a priority list of three health threats that required coordinated measure at EU level. The three health threats are: pathogens with high pandemic potential; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats; and threats resulting from antimicrobial resistance. HERA said that its threat analysis underscored the critical importance of Fabentech’s FabShield technology platform which produces broad-spectrum polyclonal antibody fragments designed to neutralise deadly viruses and toxins, including their variants.
HERA, which is a division of the European Commission established in September 2021 in the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic, said that this agreement is the first of many expected investments under the HERA Invest initiative, which is focused on driving innovation to tackle key health threats. HERA Invest is backed by €100 million from the EU4Health programme, as part of the InvestEU initiative which targets small and medium-sized companies. It aims to bridge the financial gap where private sector resources are insufficient, leveraging public funds to encourage private investment in the development of medical countermeasures.
HERA Invest said that funding secured by Fabentech will strengthen the company’s R&D efforts, reinforce and scale-up bio-production, and support market expansion.
Ambroise Fayolle, Vice President of the European Investment Bank commented: “With the joint support of HERA and the EIB, Europe finances projects that advance emergency medical treatment against the most serious biological threats. This funding will enable Fabentech to step up its work in this strategic area for Europe, strengthening our ability to respond to future health crises.”
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