TREEFROG THERAPEUTICS (IEU TI)

The promoter is a biotech company that develops allogeneic cell therapies using human induced pluripotent stem cells. The project focuses on an innovative technology platform to optimise cell therapy scale-up and production, advancing a pipeline of treatments in regenerative medicine.

The project's objectives are (i) the development of the Promoter's stem cell encapsulation and amplification technology platform, in order to enable an industrial grade quality production of microtissues, and (ii) the development its internal Parkinson's Disease program, to generate pre-clinical and clinical data.

The operation contributes to the InvestEU objective of research, development, and innovation. The purpose of the loan is to provide direct, equity-type financing under the EIB's Venture Debt Instrument to support research, development, and innovation (RDI) activities of an innovative French biotech company focused on advancing cell therapies in regenerative medicine. The financing of this project addresses the failure in financial markets for RDI, arising from limited access to commensurate financing due to factors such as information asymmetries, misalignment of incentives, etc. By creating knowledge externalities, the project is expected to provide significant socio-economic benefits, strengthen France and Europe's position in the field of advanced therapies, and help create and retain skilled staff in a cohesion area, thus fostering regional development. Thanks to the support of InvestEU, the EIB may provide long-term financing in the form of venture debt to a highly innovative company with no access to commercial debt. By contributing to extending the cash runway and, therefore, de-risking the development plan of the company, the EIB financing is expected to attract third-party investors and accelerate the company's development. The project would not have been carried out (to the same extent) by the EIB without the support of InvestEU.

The project concerns investments in research and development activities carried out by the Promoter and its partners in existing facilities without changing their already authorised scope. The research and development activities of the project do not fall under either Annex I or Annex II of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) EU Directive 2014/52/EU amending 2011/92/EU.

The promoter is a private company, not operating in the utilities sector, and who does not have the status of a contracting authority; thus the project is not covered by the EU directives on procurement. However, the promoter's procurement procedures are expected to be in line with EIB guidelines for private sector projects. The EIB will verify details during the project due diligence.