The European Investment Bank has signed a €125 million credit line with Orano to fund the development of Orano Med and related industrial infrastructure in France, including a new production facility in Bessines-sur-Gartempe.
The financing will support Orano Med, a subsidiary of the Orano group that works in nuclear medicine and develops cancer treatments known as lead-212 targeted alpha therapies, the EIB informed on Wednesday.
Lead-212 is a radioactive substance used in treatments designed to target cancer cells while limiting the impact on surrounding healthy tissue.
Orano Med currently has four clinical programmes, run independently or with partners, testing these therapies across different cancer types.
Partners named by the EIB include Sanofi, Roche and Swiss biotech company Molecular Partners.
New facility planned for thorium-228 production
Part of the funding is set to go towards building the Advanced Thorium Extraction Facility (ATEF) in Bessines-sur-Gartempe, which the EIB described as the world’s first industrial facility dedicated to large-scale production of thorium-228.
Thorium-228 is a precursor used to produce lead-212, a rare radioisotope needed for the targeted alpha therapies.
Once operational, ATEF is expected to supply Orano Med’s pharmaceutical production sites, known as ATLabs (Alpha Therapy Laboratories), where lead-212 targeted alpha therapies will be produced for patients.
The loan is the second agreement between the EIB and Orano in just over a year, following a €400 million loan announced in March 2025 to finance the expansion of the Georges Besse 2 uranium enrichment plant at Orano’s Tricastin site in France.
The deal supports investment in Orano Med’s infrastructure for developing and producing targeted alpha therapies in Europe, EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle stated.
Orano Med chief executive Frédéric Desdouits said the financing would contribute to an industrial platform in which production of thorium-228 would be centralised in France.
