France: The EIB grants Orano a loan of €125 million to finance Orano Med’s innovations and industrial infrastructure

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Orano announced today the signing of a €125 million credit line to finance the development of Orano Med and its industrial infrastructure, notably the construction of the Advanced Thorium Extraction Facility (ATEF), located in Bessines-sur-Gartempe, France.

Orano Med, a subsidiary of the Orano group specializing in nuclear medicine, develops lead-212-based targeted alpha therapies, a new class of cancer treatments. By using the unique properties of alpha-emitter lead-212, these therapies aim at the targeted destruction of cancer cells, while limiting the impact on surrounding healthy tissue. Orano Med’s clinical pipeline currently comprises four programs, run either independently or with its partners, evaluating these treatments across a wide range of cancer types that represent significant unmet medical needs. The company’s partners include major pharmaceutical groups such as Sanofi and Roche, as well as Swiss biotech Molecular Partners.

ATEF is the world’s first industrial facility dedicated to the large-scale production of thorium-228, a precursor of lead-212, a rare radioisotope used for the development of targeted alpha therapies to fight cancer. Once operational, the facility will allow for supply of all of Orano Med’s pharmaceutical production sites, known as ATLabs (Alpha Therapy Laboratories), where lead-212 targeted alpha therapies will be produced for patients.

The development of targeted alpha therapies and the creation of a dedicated production platform are fully in line with European priorities around healthcare, innovation, and industrial sovereignty. The EIB’s financing secures long-term funding for the project, underscoring its strategic importance at the European level.

For the EIB, this is the second loan agreement signed with the Orano group in just over a year. In March 2025, the European Union’s investment bank announced a €400 million loan agreement to finance the expansion of the Georges Besse 2 uranium enrichment plant at Orano’s Tricastin site, France.

Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President of the EIB, said: “By supporting the development of Orano Med and notably the construction of its industrial infrastructure, the EIB is reaffirming Europe’s commitment to advancing research in healthcare and the development of new cancer therapies, while establishing the industrial capabilities needed to produce these treatments on European territory. Following the financing agreement of the uranium enrichment program concluded last year, this second transaction with the Orano group is also fully in line with the EIB’s priorities: fostering innovation, strengthening the production capacity of strategic European industries, and ensuring the development and manufacturing of cutting-edge technologies in Europe.”

Frédéric Desdouits, CEO of Orano Med, added: “We are very proud to close this loan agreement, which reflects the strategic value of our investment plan dedicated to the development and production of innovative targeted alpha therapies for the treatment of cancer patients. The €125 million EIB financing will contribute to the deployment of our unique industrial platform, with the production of thorium-228, a critical step in the lead-212 therapy supply chain, to be centralized in France.”

Background information

About EIB Group

The European Investment Bank Group, comprising the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), is the financing arm of the European Union, owned by the 27 Member States, and one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world. In 2025, the EIB Group signed €100 billion in new financing and advisory services (of which 13 billion in France) for over 870 high-impact projects under eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, territorial cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, strong global partnerships and the savings and investments union. Beyond long-term loans for large infrastructure, the EIB Group crowds in private investment for high-risk innovative projects and businesses, with a growing role in Europe’s markets for venture debt, venture capital, guarantees and securitisations. 

Photos of the EIB Group’s representatives and headquarters, logo files and video B-roll for media use are available here. 

About Orano

As a recognized international operator in the field of nuclear materials, Orano delivers solutions to address present and future global energy and health challenges. Its expertise and mastery of cutting-edge technologies enable Orano to offer its customers high value-added products and services throughout the entire fuel cycle. Every day, the Orano group’s 18,500 employees draw on their skills, unwavering dedication to safety and constant quest for innovation, with the commitment to develop know-how in the transformation and control of nuclear materials, for the climate and for a healthy and resource-efficient world, now and tomorrow.

Orano, giving nuclear energy its full value.

About Orano Med

Orano Med is a subsidiary of the Orano group. Orano Med is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops a new generation of targeted therapies against cancer using the unique properties of lead-212 (²¹²Pb), an alpha-emitting radioisotope and one of the most potent therapeutic payloads against cancer cells known as Targeted Alpha Therapy (TAT). Leveraging its unique and secured access to ²¹²Pb, the company is developing several ²¹²Pb-based radioligand therapies combined with various targeting agents. Orano Med has ²¹²Pb manufacturing facilities, laboratories, and R&D centers in France and in the US and is currently expanding its GMP-manufacturing capacities for ²¹²Pb radiolabeled pharmaceuticals in North America and Europe.