EIB supports Orano Med’s industrialisation with a €125 million loan

Europe is confirming its support for the development of targeted radionuclide therapy. By granting a €125 million loan to Orano Med, the European Investment Bank is supporting the development of a strategic industrial sector around lead-212, just a few days after the inauguration of the company’s new R&D centre in Villejuif.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted Orano a €125 million loan to finance the development of Orano Med and its industrial infrastructure. This financing is notably intended to support the construction of the Advanced Thorium Extraction Facility (ATEF), in Bessines-sur-Gartempe, Haute-Vienne, the world’s first industrial facility dedicated to the large-scale production of thorium-228, an essential precursor for the manufacture of lead-212 used in targeted alpha therapies.

A subsidiary of Orano, Orano Med is developing innovative cancer treatments based on lead-212, an alpha-emitting radioisotope that can destroy tumour cells in a highly targeted way while limiting the irradiation of healthy tissue. The company currently has four clinical programmes, conducted either alone or in partnership with several major pharmaceutical groups, including Sanofi and Roche.

For the European Investment Bank, this financing is part of Europe’s priorities in health, innovation and industrial sovereignty. It is intended to secure, over the long term, part of the European supply chain for medical radioisotopes, a strategic issue at a time when demand for radiopharmaceuticals is growing strongly.

Industrial ramp-up

This announcement comes just a few days after Orano Med inaugurated its new headquarters and scientific centre of excellence in Villejuif, at the heart of the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster. This new site brings together the company’s research and development teams and houses laboratories dedicated to the development of the chemical vectors used in targeted alpha therapies.

This location illustrates Orano Med’s determination to accelerate the development of its treatments while bringing its activities closer to the main French players in oncology research. The new centre is also an essential component of the company’s industrial strategy, alongside the future production capacities that will be developed in Bessines-sur-Gartempe around the ATEF.

The support obtained from the EIB therefore reinforces this integrated development strategy, from research through to the industrial production of the radioisotopes needed for future targeted radionuclide therapy medicines. ■