>@EIB/To be defined

Today, 28 January 2016, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Transgene announced that they have entered into a EUR 20m financing agreement. The event organised to mark the granting of this loan will take place at Transgene's headquarters in Illkirch-Graffenstaden, in the presence of Ambroise Fayolle, EIB Vice-President responsible for innovation, Alain Mérieux, Chairman of Institut Mérieux, Transgene's leading shareholder, and Philippe Archinard, Transgene's Chairman and CEO.

This is a key loan, which will help finance Transgene's new clinical developments for the treatment of infectious diseases, including chronic hepatitis B, virus-induced cancers such as HPV (human papilloma virus) and tuberculosis.

European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Carlos Moedas commented: "This deal under InnovFin's IDFF facility, once again shows the EU's determination to tackle major public health problems. We hope that this loan will help to improve the treatment and quality of life of people affected by these diseases."

"Supporting innovation is a priority for the European Union's bank", said the EIB Vice-President. "And it is our responsibility to create the optimal conditions for financing clinical research, which is essential for developing new medical treatments. This is an innovative financing operation, which will have a real impact on the health and daily life of Europe's citizens. The EIB is proud to be supporting Transgene with regard to these new innovation and development projects."

"Transgene has recently set itself new strategic ambitions concerning cancer immunotherapy and infectious diseases. The EIB loan will provide it with crucial additional resources to bring its innovative projects to a successful conclusion", stressed Alain Mérieux, Institut Mérieux's Chairman. "I am delighted with the confidence shown in Transgene by this leading financial institution. It recognises the quality of Transgene's teams and its technological expertise, as well as the relevance of the medical products of this company, of which the Institut is the main shareholder."

EIB support for the development of Transgene should be seen in the context of the Horizon 2020 initiative, in particular the EU Finance for Innovators programme "InnovFin IDFF" (Infectious Diseases Finance Facility), which offers bespoke products for financing high-risk projects in the field of infectious diseases. This instrument is for financing the development of vaccines, medicines, medical and diagnostic equipment and research infrastructure.

The EIB Group has made innovation one of its priorities and in 2015 earmarked more than EUR 18bn for supporting basic, applied and clinical research programmes within the European Union. In France, in 2015 18% of the Group's activity, out of an investment total of just over EUR 8.7bn, was used to support innovation and research and development.

Note to editors:

Transgene

Transgene S.A. (Euronext: TNG), part of Institut Mérieux, is a publicly traded French biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing targeted immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Transgene’s programs utilize viral vector technology with the goal of indirectly or directly killing infected or cancerous cells. The Company’s two lead clinical-stage programs are: TG4010 for non-small cell lung cancer and Pexa-Vec for liver cancer. The Company has several other programs in clinical and pre-clinical development. Transgene is based in Strasbourg, France, and has additional operations in Lyon, as well as satellite offices in China and the U.S.  Additional information about Transgene is available at www.transgene.fr.

General information on InnovFin financial products

Under the Horizon 2020 initiative, the EU research programme for 2014-20, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group (EIB and EIF) launched a new generation of financial instruments and advisory services in 2014 to help innovative firms access credit more easily. Up until 2020, "InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators" will offer a range of bespoke products which will make available more than EUR 24bn worth of finance in support of research and innovation (R&I) products undertaken by small, medium-sized and large companies and promoters of research infrastructure. Overall, this finance is expected to mobilise at least EUR 48bn worth of investment in research and innovation.

Backed by funds set aside under Horizon 2020 and by the EIB Group, InnovFin financial products are used to support R&I activities, which by their nature are riskier and harder to assess than traditional investments, and therefore often face difficulties in accessing finance. Firms and other entities located in EU Member States and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries are eligible as final beneficiaries These debt instruments are complemented by a series of equity instruments managed by the EIF.

The facility for financing research into infectious diseases enables a wide range of financial products to be offered, ranging from standard debt instruments to risk sharing instruments, amounting to between EUR 7.5m and EUR 75m, for researchers working to develop innovative vaccines, medicines, or medical and diagnostic equipment or new research infrastructure specialising in infectious diseases. The final beneficiaries are project promoters who have successfully negotiated the preclinical stage.