French biotech firm Transgene has received a major funding boost, to the tune of 25 million euros, from the French government.
The grant comes from the French Agency for Industrial Innovation and will be used to fund Transgene’s participation in the ADNA (Advanced Diagnostics and New therapeutic Approaches) project. The aim of the scheme, which will also involve bioMerieux, Genethon and GenoSafe, is to meet “ the challenges of personalised medicine in the fields of cancer, infectious and rare genetic diseases through the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.”
The funding for Transgene, which is subject to European Commission approval expected in the second quarter of 2007, is to be paid over the life of the project and will comprise grants of 17.8 million euros and loans of 7.2 million euros sums, refundable only in the case of success.
“The funding will help Transgene expand and accelerate its therapeutic vaccines portfolio,” said Philippe Archinard, the firm’s chief executive. He added that the agency’s support of the ADNA project “with substantial funding is a recognition of its scientific, medical and industrial relevance.”
