IO Biotech will use the venture debt funding provided by the European Investment Bank to develop and market a vaccine to treat melanoma.
Danish medical technology company IO Biotech has secured a €57.5m venture debt deal with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to further develop and market an immunotherapeutic cancer vaccine to treat melanoma. If successful, the vaccine may be used against other types of cancer.
The deal includes one tranche of €20m, with the remaining €37.5m becoming available once the biopharmaceutical firm meets certain conditions, both parties said. IO Biotech’s lead cancer vaccine candidate, IO102-IO103, is currently in clinical trials, while additional pipeline candidates are in preclinical development.
“Innovative European companies not only need capital but also investors willing to take risks, allowing them to scale up and reach commercialisation before non-EU investors step in,” said Ioannis Tsakiris, vice president of the EIB, which is the long-term lending institution of the European Union.
“IO Biotech’s groundbreaking technology has the potential to significantly impact healthcare, particularly in oncology. Bringing new pharmaceutical products to market requires substantial investment, especially in the final stages of development,” Tsakiris said.
He went on to say the EIB’s financing is backed under the European Commission’s InvestEU initiative. This programme leverages substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable economy in the EU.
Market size
The European market for medical technology was valued at roughly €160bn in 2023, making it the second-biggest market in the world after the US, according to European trade association MedTech Europe.
“This funding comes at a critical time for our company as we approach the results from the phase 3 pivotal study of our lead investigational therapeutic cancer vaccine, IO102-IO103, in the third quarter of 2025,” said Amy Sullivan, chief financial officer of IO Biotech.
Headquartered in Copenhagen, IO Biotech is developing immune-modulating cancer vaccine therapies based on its so called T-win platform, which aims to stimulate T cells against both tumor cells and immune-suppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment.
T cells, a type of white blood cell, form part of the immune system and develop from stem cells in the bone marrow. They can help protect the body from infection and may help fight cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute in the US.
