Swedish biotechnology company BioLamina has secured a €20 million loan from the European Investment Bank to expand its laminin technology used in cell therapies and animal-free drug safety testing.
The funding will be used to scale up production of laminins — proteins used to grow and maintain cells in laboratory environments — and to optimise manufacturing and expand BioLamina’s product portfolio, the EIB announced in a release on Thursday.
Cell therapies can target conditions including type 1 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, heart failure, acute liver failure and cancer, the bank said.
BioLamina’s laminins were developed through research by the company’s founders and are used by academic researchers, biotechnology companies and large pharmaceutical organisations worldwide.
InvestEU-backed venture debt
The financing is backed by the EU’s InvestEU programme and is structured as venture debt — long-term borrowing designed for fast-growing companies that can complement venture capital without immediately diluting existing shareholders, the EIB said.
“Europe needs to turn scientific excellence into global companies,” EIB Vice-President Karl Nehammer stated.
BioLamina chief executive Klaus Langhoff-Roos said scaling the production of high-quality cell products “remains a fundamental challenge” and that the financing would expand the company’s technology and manufacturing capabilities.
The operation also supports the EIB Group’s TechEU programme and EU initiatives including BioTechEU.
