The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Israel Innovation Authority signed this week a cooperation agreement to pursue investment opportunities in the field of bio-convergence for healthcare. The signature was announced in the context of a Memorandum of Understanding by which the EIB and the National Technological Innovation Authority of Israel have agreed to cooperate in the globally emerging field of bio-convergence.
The European Investment Bank will back Pluristem with €50 million ($54 million) of financing, which will help the Hafa-based company to advance the clinical development of its cell therapies, including COVID-19, and address a number of severe medical conditions.
The deal is the first Israeli-European project guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, the financial pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe, a joint initiative of the EIB and the European Commission
Encouraging preliminary data published earlier this month showed that the company’s PLX cell-therapy product had treated six critically ill coronavirus patients in Israel who were considered high risk for mortality. They all survived.
European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said: “The Investment Plan for Europe has a strong track record of supporting ground-breaking research and development in the health sector. Pluristem is carrying out highly innovative and crucial work in the fight against coronavirus, now boosted by financial backing from the EU.”
“Today’s signatures show that we are successful when we stand together,” said Ambroise Fayolle, EIB Vice-President in charge of innovation. “Israel is home to a thriving scene of innovative startups, which dominate the high-tech industry. Pluristem is an excellent example of Israeli-European cooperation and EIB support for them is particularly timely, as it will allow the company to develop a treatment for the most vulnerable COVID-19 patients. Working together often saves time and resources – in this case it has the potential to save lives.”
Dr Ami Appelbaum, Chairman, Israel Innovation Authority and Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Economy and Industry, explained: “Israel views bio-convergence as its next economic growth engine. This innovative approach serves as an engine to find efficient, diverse and ingenious approaches to health problem solving. It integrates biology with engineering, AI, physics, computation, nanotechnology and material science in order to address unmet needs in numerous industries, including health, agriculture, energy and defence.’’
He added: ‘’As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads globally, it is of vital importance to employ cutting edge technological innovation with global outreach to provide the much needed relief the world is looking for.”
EU Ambassador to Israel Emanuele Giaufret said ‘’this important agreement with the EIB will help to develop promising treatment for coronavirus, and is yet another achievement of the EU and Israel, strengthening our cooperation in research and innovation. We thank Israeli researchers for their efforts, and look forward to continued joint work for the benefit of all.”