The European Investment Bank is lending €100 million to Finnish pharmaceutical company Orion Pharma to support research into new treatments for cancer, pain and other serious conditions.
The funding will cover Orion’s research and development work at its centres in Europe, including staff costs, clinical trials, patenting and investment in specialised laboratory equipment, the EIB said on Wednesday.
Orion’s work includes developing therapies for areas of unmet medical need — conditions where few effective treatments exist..
EIB vice-president Karl Nehammer said the financing would support Orion Pharma’s “research pipeline” and “improving access to critical medicines.”
Supply security and critical medicines
The project is also linked to EU efforts to strengthen the supply of essential medicines in Europe, the EIB said.
Orion Pharma is a producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients — the substances that make medicines work — and takes part in the EU’s Critical Medicines Alliance.
Orion Pharma chief financial officer René Lindell said the financing would support the company’s research and development efforts.
The bank said this is Orion’s fifth project backed by EIB Group support.
