Hamburg-based Evotec bags €150M loan from EIB to accelerate global access to therapeutics

Hamburg-based Evotec, a life sciences company, announced on Friday, February 10, that it has raised an unsecured loan facility of €150M from the European Investment Bank (EIB). 

Evotec says it will use the funds to accelerate its R&D activities, equity investments, and the building of the new J.POD biologics manufacturing facility on Evotec’s Campus Curie in Toulouse, France. 

The manufacturing facility will bring advanced biomanufacturing to the EU and deliver much-needed clinical and commercial manufacturing capacity for biologics. 

The construction of J.POD Toulouse, France (EU), is also supported by the French government, the Occitanie Region, Bpifrance, the Haute-Garonne préfecture as well as Toulouse Métropole with up to €50M.

Evotec says the new agreement will be signed in Toulouse during a site visit.

Ambroise Fayolle, EIB Vice President, says, “We are very pleased to support Evotec’s investments in research, development, and innovation with this second financing agreement signed with the European Investment Bank.” 

Fayolle adds, “It demonstrates our commitment to supporting European biotech companies at the cutting edge of innovation in a sector marked by very strong global competition.” 

“This EIB investment will also have a significant impact on activity in the Toulouse region, as it will help to finance a 12,000 square metre plant that will create more than 200 highly skilled jobs,” says Fayolle.

The EIB supports Evotec through a financial structure that includes a low fixed interest rate plus a reward-sharing component for the EIB. 

The loan, with a total volume of up to €150M, will be invested over three years, and each tranche will mature seven years after the drawdown. 

The EIB financing will enable Evotec to broaden its portfolio, which currently spans 90 active projects across more than 30 companies worldwide. 

Evotec: Making effective therapeutics accessible 

Initially, Evotec was founded as Evotec BioSystems GmbH in Hamburg, Germany, in 1993. 

Among the founders are Nobel Laureate Professor Manfred Eigen, Dr. Karsten Henco, Dr. Ulrich Aldag, Dr. Freimut Leidenberger, Dr. Heinrich Schulte, Professor Rudolf Rigler, and Dr. Charles Weissmann. 

Evotec’s mission is to discover and develop highly effective therapeutics and make them globally available to patients who need them.

The company works in partnerships with top 20 Pharma and over 800 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, and other healthcare stakeholders.

The German company has strategic activities in a broad range of currently underserved therapeutic areas, including neurology and oncology, as well as metabolic and infectious diseases. 

The company operates globally with more than 4,500 highly qualified people at 17 sites in six countries across Europe and the USA.

Enno Spillner, Chief Financial Officer of Evotec, says, “We are excited to enter into this second financing agreement with the European Investment Bank. By funding transformational projects in key areas of public interest, EIB is an important driver of innovation in the EU.”

Spillner adds, “We are honoured and excited to be able to create new R&D partnering opportunities and establish Europe’s first J.POD biologics manufacturing plant through the innovative financing model from the EIB at highly attractive terms.”

“This new agreement with EIB builds on the excellent relationship we have developed as part of the first financing agreement entered in 2017. The EIB’s support will help us deliver on our mission ‘Together for Medicines that Matter,” concludes Spillner.