The European Investment Bank (EIB) lends DKK 240 million to Statens Serum Institut (SSI) in Denmark to finance the development of a multi-purpose production facility for vaccines and diagnostics at its headquarters in Copenhagen.

The EIB funds will support the construction of a new facility for manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients, API's, for vaccines and biopharmaceuticals. The new facility will be used for API's for pediatric combination vaccines.

The current loan is a further development of the successful cooperation between the EIB and SSI, one of the world's leading institutes in the area of prevention and control of infectious diseases, congenital disorders and biological threats.

The loan is in line with the EIB's lending priority of supporting investment leading to the establishment of a knowledge-based society in Europe, based on the conclusions of the EU Lisbon Summit in 2000. The EIB's approach to the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy is focused on the links between knowledge creation and the market. It involves all phases of the education cycle, Research and Development, the transformation of innovation into investment, productivity gains and increased competitiveness of the European economy.

The EIB, the EU´s financing arm, supports implementation of the Lisbon Strategy aimed to create a competitive European economy based on knowledge and innovation by the end of the current decade. The EIB, whose financing contributes to furthering the policies of the EU, has lent so far some EUR 35 billion to finance investment projects contributing to the so-called Lisbon Agenda.

The Bank has extended loans in Denmark amounting to EUR 4.4 billion since 2001. EIB financing of projects supporting research and development and innovation dissemination in the country represents EUR 1.2 billion during this period.