InvestEU: EIB provides €35 million in financing to GVM Group to support research, technology and digitalisation in the health sector

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

• GVM will use EIB financing to develop medical technologies, carry out clinical research and strengthen digital infrastructure.
• The operation is backed by InvestEU, the European Union’s investment programme.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced a financing operation worth €35 million to support research, development and innovation projects at GVM, one of Italy’s leading hospital groups. The financing is backed by InvestEU, the European Union’s investment programme. The EIB Group is the programme’s main implementing partner.

The aim of the EIB’s operation is to make care more accessible and personalised, to digitalise and automate services available to patients, and to improve operational efficiency.

More specifically, the financing will allow GVM to develop medical technologies in the cardiopulmonary field and for extracorporeal life support. It will also enable the group to carry out clinical and translational research for cardiovascular and metabolic conditions, and to strengthen digital infrastructure in all the group’s main healthcare facilities in Italy. In addition, Eurostets, the subsidiary company, has plans to build a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility to extend its existing plant in Medolla, in the province of Modena. The projects will be completed by 2027.

“This operation is supporting research and the development of new medical technologies, helping to create a more resilient, efficient and modern healthcare system. Investing in innovation and digitalisation in the healthcare sector is essential to improve its operational efficiency, and to ensure that it can respond quickly and effectively to future challenges,” said EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti.

“The group has always been consistently focused on improving the quality and range of its services for the benefit of our patients and service users. We do so by making significant investments to expand our facilities, also investing in technology, digitalisation, research and new organisational solutions. We are honoured to have such a long-standing relationship with the EIB. Thanks to this, we will be able to carry out a number of development projects in multiple areas. This will enable us to scale up our production of new technologies, carry out more research, and boost the care services that we offer. This will all be done in a dynamic and innovative way to ensure we seize important opportunities,” said President of GVM Ettore Sansavini.

 Background information

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. It finances investments that contribute to EU policy objectives. EIB projects bolster competitiveness, drive innovation, promote sustainable development, enhance social and territorial cohesion, and support a just and swift transition to climate neutrality. The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed a total of €88 billion in new financing for over 900 projects in 2023. These commitments are expected to mobilise around €320 billion in investment, supporting 400 000 companies and 5.4 million jobs. In the last five years, the EIB Group has provided more than €58 billion in financing for projects in Italy. All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. The EIB Group does not fund investments in fossil fuels. We are on track to deliver on our commitment to support €1 trillion in climate and environmental sustainability investment in the decade to 2030 as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Over half of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment. Approximately half of the EIB’s financing within the European Union is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower.

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with essential long-term financing, helping to leverage substantial sums of public and private funding to enable a sustainable recovery. It also helps to crowd in private investment for the European Union’s strategic priorities such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The InvestEU programme brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects simpler, more efficient and more flexible. InvestEU has three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is deployed through financial partners that invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increasing their risk-bearing capacity and mobilising at least €372 billion in additional investment.

The GVM group was founded and is led by Ettore Sansavini. It operates in the health, research, biomedical and thermal care sectors, with a particular focus on specialist care, medical prevention and promoting well-being and quality of life. At the heart of GVM is their integrated network of 29 hospitals – many of which are highly specialised – four health centres and three care homes spread over 11 regions in Italy. These regions are: Piedmont, Lombardy, Liguria, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Lazio, Puglia, Marche, Campania and Sicily. GVM also operates in other countries, with 15 hospitals in France, Poland, Albania, Ukraine and Kosovo*. GVM spa is headquartered in Lugo, in the province of Ravenna. The experience and skills that GVM has developed over the years have established it as a centre of excellence in the Italian healthcare sector. This is particularly the case in the areas of cardiology, heart surgery, electrophysiology, orthopaedics, brain surgery, arrhythmology and diabetic foot treatment. For more information, visit: http://www.gvmnet.it

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and it is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.