EIB and Angelini to finance European biotech and digital health .

European Investment Bank (EIB) and Angelini Ventures have agreed a €150 million co-investment programme to back early commercial-stage companies across biotechnology, medical technology and digital health. The deal sets a six-year horizon under which each partner will commit €75 million, targeting 7–10 European startups with solutions close to market entry.

The partnership — presented in Rome — is positioned inside the EIB Group’s broader TechEU initiative, which aims to mobilise innovation capital for European technology champions. The EIB said the move is intended to accelerate translation of research into deployable products and services while helping firms scale internationally.

In a sign of immediate activity, the partners plan to co-invest in the second-round financing of French ADC specialist Adcytherix, where the first close was led by Bpifrance and co-led by Kurma Partners, Andera Partners and Angelini Ventures. The round is being finalised and illustrates the pact’s focus: targeted bets on therapeutics and precision oncology platforms that can move rapidly into clinical development or commercial partnerships.

Gelsomina Vigliotti, EIB Vice‑President, framed the agreement as a way to strengthen Europe’s industrial capacity in health technologies and to speed patient access to new treatments. Sergio Marullo di Condojanni, CEO of Angelini Industries, said the pact internationalises the group’s venture activity and aligns corporate R&D interests with pan‑European capital. Paolo Di Giorgio, CEO of Angelini Ventures, highlighted market access and scale as principal objectives for the co-investments.

Angelini Ventures, founded in 2022 with a planned war chest of €300 million, has already deployed roughly €125 million across 22 startups. For the EIB, the operation marks a first — the bank stated it is the initial partnership with a corporate venture capital vehicle active in healthcare, reflecting a broader push to work with strategic corporate investors to unlock deal flow and operational know‑how.

Europe has lagged the US in venture financing volumes and IPO exits, with 2024 VC investment in Europe at around €57 billion across 9,600 rounds, versus €210 billion in the US. Italy’s VC market is growing — €1.5 billion invested across 417 rounds in 2024, including ~€300 million into life sciences — and the new pact aims to channel more patient‑capital and sector expertise to firms seeking scale and international partnerships. The tie-up is therefore both a capital and signal play: pairing EIB balance sheet capacity with Angelini’s sector knowledge to improve chances of commercial success and potential future public listings for European health innovators.