The European Investment Bank (EIB) and biopharmaceutical company Da Volterra announced today that they have entered into a EUR 20m financing agreement.

This is a key loan designed to finance Da Volterra’s clinical developments in the area of prevention and treatment of antibiotic-resistant serious infectious and hospital-acquired diseases.

European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Carlos Moedas commented: "This operation under the InnovFin facility demonstrates the EU's determination to tackle major public health problems. We hope that this loan will help to improve the quality of life of people affected by infectious diseases and reduce the risk of development of antibiotic resistance."

"Supporting innovation and businesses is a priority of the European Union's bank. It is our responsibility to create the optimal conditions for financing research in biotech companies, which is essential for developing new treatments” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. "There are growing medical needs in this area, so the EIB is very pleased to be supporting Da Volterra’s series of innovation and development projects in the field of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. This is an innovative financing operation that will have a strong impact on the health and daily life of Europe's citizens."

“We are highly honoured by the EIB’s commitment to Da Volterra. The EIB loan will provide us with significant additional resources to take forward our research programmes in a critical area, that of serious bacterial infections. This loan will help meet the challenge posed by today’s multi-resistant bacteria and multiple infectious risks. Da Volterra is one of the few companies in the world that is clinically developing a new agent designed to prevent Clostridium difficile infections and the emergence of resistant bacteria by protecting intestinal flora from the disruption caused by antibiotic treatment”, concluded Florence Séjourné, CEO of Da Volterra.

The EIB support for Da Volterra’s development is being provided under the Horizon 2020 initiative, and more particularly the InnovFin Infectious Diseases Finance Facility, which offers bespoke products for financing high-risk projects in the field of infectious diseases. This instrument funds the development of vaccines, medicines, medical and diagnostic equipment and research facilities.

With innovation one of its top priorities, in 2016 the EIB Group provided EUR 13.5bn in support of innovative projects in Europe, including the research programmes of large corporate groups, specialised firms and biotech companies. In France last year, 38% of the EIB Group's total investment of EUR 9.3bn was devoted to supporting businesses, innovation and research and development.

Background information:

About the European Investment Bank Group

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the EU bank, and together with the European Investment Fund (EIF) forms the EIB Group. Thanks to its reliable expertise and the financial attractiveness of its AAA rating, the EIB Group has doubled the volume of its activities in France since 2012 (reaching EUR 9.3bn in 2016), not only supporting SMEs and innovation but also financing investment in strategic sectors such as climate action, energy, healthcare, education for young people and training facilities.

France fact sheet 2016: http://www.eib.org/attachments/press/fiche-france-2017.pdf

About Da Volterra

Da Volterra is a biopharmaceutical company based in Paris which develops innovative solutions for the prevention and treatment of serious infections, for which there is a growing medical need. With antibiotic resistance and hospital-acquired infections threatening medical practice, Da Volterra’s innovative approaches promise substantial medical progress in line with the expectations of healthcare professionals. The company’s most advanced product, DAV132, is being developed to prevent Clostridium difficile infections and the emergence of resistant bacteria in at-risk patients by protecting intestinal flora from antibiotic-induced disruption. The product has already been tested in four clinical trials and has demonstrated the proof of concept of protection of intestinal microbiota from antibiotic dysbiosis. For more information, please visit: www.davolterra.com

General information on InnovFin financial products

Under the Horizon 2020 initiative, the EU research programme for 2014-20, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group (EIB and EIF) launched a new generation of financial instruments and advisory services in 2014 to help innovative firms access credit more easily. Up until 2020, "InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators" will offer a range of bespoke products which will make available more than EUR 24bn worth of finance in support of research and innovation (R&I) projects undertaken by small, medium-sized and large companies and promoters of research facilities. Overall, this finance is expected to mobilise at least EUR 48bn worth of investment in research and innovation.

Backed by funds set aside under Horizon 2020 and by the EIB Group, InnovFin financial products are used to support R&I activities, which by their nature are riskier and harder to assess than traditional investments, and therefore often face difficulties in accessing finance. Firms and other entities located in EU Member States and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries are eligible to be final beneficiaries. These debt instruments are complemented by a series of equity instruments managed by the EIF.

The facility for financing research into infectious diseases enables a wide range of financial products to be offered, ranging from standard debt instruments to risk sharing instruments, amounting to between EUR 7.5m and EUR 75m, for researchers working to develop innovative vaccines, medicines, or medical and diagnostic equipment or new research facilities specialising in infectious diseases. The final beneficiaries are project promoters who have successfully negotiated the preclinical stage.