EIB and Angelini Ventures Launch €150 Million European Biotech Investment Initiative
Key Insights
The European Investment Bank (search) and Angelini Ventures (search) have signed a groundbreaking €150 million agreement to co-invest in European biotechnology, medtech, and digital health startups over six years.
This marks the first agreement between the EIB and a corporate venture capital fund in the healthcare sector, targeting seven to ten innovative European companies ready for market launch.
The partnership will begin with a co-investment in French ADC specialist Adcytherix (search), which develops next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (search) for enhanced precision cancer (search) therapy.
The European Investment Bank (search) (EIB) and Angelini Ventures (search) have announced a landmark €150 million investment agreement to support European biotechnology, medtech, and digital health startups, marking the first collaboration between the EIB and a corporate venture capital fund in the healthcare sector.
Under the six-year partnership, each organization will contribute €75 million to co-invest in seven to ten European startups developing innovative solutions particularly suited for market launch. The agreement was presented at Angelini Ventures (search)' headquarters in Rome and forms part of TechEU, the EIB Group's investment programme designed to strengthen Europe's innovation ecosystem and technological leadership.
Strategic European Investment Framework
The initiative aligns with the EIB Group's ambitious TechEU programme, which aims to invest €70 billion in equity, quasi-equity, loans, and guarantees between 2025 and 2027, with the goal of mobilizing €250 billion of investment in the real economy. According to EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti, "Initiatives like this strengthen Europe's ability to lead technological innovation and generate tangible benefits for people, patients and businesses. Investing in biotechnology, medtech and digital health is vital, as it accelerates research, improves the quality of care, and supports the growth of companies able to bring cutting-edge solutions to market."
The partnership strengthens Angelini Ventures (search)' position in the sector. Founded in 2022 with €300 million from Angelini Industries (search), the Italian multinational in health, industrial technology and consumer goods sectors, the company has already invested €125 million in 22 startups.
First Investment Target: ADC Innovation
As the partnership's inaugural investment, Angelini Ventures (search) and the EIB plan to co-invest in the second financing round of Adcytherix (search), a French biopharmaceutical company developing innovative antibody-drug conjugates (search) (ADCs (search)). These targeted therapies combine antibodies with next-generation cytotoxic payloads to enhance precision, reduce toxicity, and address resistance to current treatments. The company's first funding round, which closed in October, was led by Bpifrance (search) and co-led by Kurma Partners (search), Andera Partners (search), and Angelini Ventures.
Addressing European Innovation Challenges
The agreement addresses significant challenges facing European startups. According to the European Commission's data cited in the announcement, nearly 30% of European unicorn companies moved outside the European Union between 2008 and 2021, and only 8% of global scale-ups are based in Europe.
The funding landscape reveals stark regional disparities. In 2024, the United States recorded approximately 15,000 funding rounds totaling €210 billion in investment, while Asia saw 11,000 rounds for €70 billion. Europe, meanwhile, had 9,600 rounds with total financing of €57 billion, representing a 16% decrease in deal numbers and an 8% decline in total value compared to 2023. Conversely, the United States experienced a 4% increase in deal numbers and a 29% rise in total funding over the same period.
Italian Market Dynamics
Italy's venture capital market showed positive momentum in 2024, with total investment reaching €1.5 billion across 417 rounds, representing a 31% increase compared to 2023. The Italian market focuses primarily on deeptech, software, and life sciences, with €300 million invested across 62 rounds in life sciences alone during 2024.
Leadership Perspectives
Sergio Marullo di Condojanni, CEO of Angelini Industries (search), emphasized the strategic importance of the partnership: "This important agreement with the EIB enables us to bring our group's commitment to innovation through venture capital to a European strategic context. Being chosen by the EIB for an ambitious project aiming to consolidate Europe's role in innovation and health is an opportunity to work towards the common goal of turning researchers' excellent ideas into products and services with a positive impact on people's lives and the economic development of European countries."
Paolo Di Giorgio, CEO of Angelini Ventures (search), highlighted the agreement's role in international expansion: "The agreement with the EIB is a key step in strengthening our international presence and global vision. This development path is essential to accelerating market access for talent and for innovative projects, facilitating strategic partnerships in health and offering scaling opportunities for investments and partners."
The partnership represents a significant step toward addressing the European Commission's Startup and Scale Up Strategy objectives, which aim to overcome the two main obstacles startups face: the transition from research to development and market, and the leap from startup to established company. The collaboration between the EIB Group and corporate venture capital companies is designed to facilitate the identification and financing of innovative businesses while potentially stimulating a European initial public offering market to retain value generated within Europe.