The European Investment Bank is providing a €15 million venture loan to Colombian biotechnology company VaxThera as part of a wider €35 million financing package intended to expand vaccine and biologics manufacturing capacity in Colombia.
The deal was announced in New York on the margins of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced on Thursday.
The €15 million loan is the first tranche of the approved €35 million package, with the money supporting construction, fitting out and validation work for the second phase of VaxThera’s commercial-scale facility for producing vaccines and biological medicines.
The financing will also fund technology transfer and research and development activities.
VaxThera’s expanded facility is expected to enable production of up to 250 million doses a year, with output of 600 million to 700 million doses in “pandemic mode.”
The company will be able to add end-to-end vaccine manufacturing capabilities including upstream processing and precision filling.
European Commission backing and R&D grant
The investment is supported by the European Commission through the EU’s Global Gateway initiative, with the operation backed via a guarantee under the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+), according to the EIB.
A separate €1.5 million technical assistance grant will support three vaccine candidates in VaxThera’s research and development pipeline.
The expansion would help reduce Colombia’s reliance on imported vaccines and biological medicines and support vaccine supply in Latin America.
The financing will help VaxThera build integrated vaccine research and manufacturing capabilities in Colombia, VaxThera chief executive Professor Jorge Emilio Osorio said.
