European Investment Bank Provides Getinge With R&D Loan

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided a 160 million euro (approximately $172 million) loan to Swedish medical technology company Getinge AB for its research and development in the areas of surgery, intensive care, infection control, care ergonomics and wound care. In particular, the global company aims to advance its technology in the fields of cardiac surgery, cardiology, intensive care and emergency medicine.

Additional development efforts will focus on critical care and surgical workplaces, including anaesthesia machines, continuous glucose monitoring and operating tables.

“We are pleased to be partnering with Getinge in this breakthrough operation as it enables the EU bank to support future technologies whose concrete applications will improve the health of European citizens,” said Jonathan Taylor, EIB vice president with responsibility for lending in Sweden. “Projects such as this strengthen the competitiveness and boost the innovative capacity of European health-related industries and businesses, so enhancing Europe’s position as a major technology supplier and supporting skilled employment opportunities.”

The project, backed by the EU bank, covers the entire research and development cycle from initial concept to clinical trials. It will be implemented until 2017 at research and development facilities located in Germany, Sweden and France, thus safeguarding opportunities for the skilled workforce in these countries. Given Getinge’s collaboration with universities and public research programs, the knowledge acquired through the research activities also will be widely disseminated across Europe, according to the EIB.

This is the first EIB operation in Sweden supported by the “InnovFin—EU Finance for Innovators” project, which is dedicated to improving access to risk finance for research and innovation projects originating from larger firms in the European Union. The European Investment Bank is a long-term lending institution of the European Union and is owned by the EU member states. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute toward EU policy goals.

In 2014, EIB financing in Sweden totaled $1.5 billion, with the main focus centered on projects that promoted sustainable transport, energy efficiency and urban development.

Getinge Group makes devices for surgery, intensive care, infection control, care ergonomics and wound care. The Group is divided into three business areas: Medical Systems, Extended Care and Infection Control—and operates under the brands of Maquet, ArjoHuntleigh and Getinge.