As part of the green transformation of North Rhine-Westphalia’s former coal-mining region, independent assessors have recommended the co-financing of two biotechnology processes developed at pilot scale by Evonik Industries AG, with the aim of advancing them to demonstration scale. The third funding round of the “Produktives.NRW” call includes approximately €70 million from the EU’s Just Transition Fund (JTF) allocated to six projects.

Basel-based NUCLIDIUM AG has successfully closed a Series B financing round of CHF 79 million (EUR 84 million) to advance the development of its copper-based radiopharmaceutical platform. The round was led by Kurma Growth Opportunities Fund, Angelini Ventures, Wellington Partners, and Neva SGR, a company of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group.

The biotech company Actithera, with locations in Cambridge, USA, and Oslo, Norway, has successfully closed a major Series A round, raising US $75.5 million. Its isotope-agnostic platform — designed with a specific focus on the interaction between linker and target molecule — has attracted strong interest from a wide range of investors. However, the path to this achievement was not as straightforward as anticipated, CEO Andreas Goutopoulos told European Biotech News.

French biotech Ciloa SAS has received a €6.5m grant to advance its adiponectin-loaded exosome candidate, APN-sEV, into Phase I safety trials, ahead of efficacy evaluation in indications including type 2 diabetes, obesity, and liver fibrosis.

After Finnish protein powder producer Solarfoods signed a strategic agreement with two US food manufacturers to supply 6,000 tonnes of Solein from 2030 onwards, the company has now announced a more concrete partnership with US flavour manufacturer Sensapure Flavours Inc.

The CEO of Lund-based Enzymatica AB, Claus Egstrand, is stepping down from his role. CFO Therese Filmersson will also leave her position. The process of finding their successors has already begun.

Pichia pastoris (syn. Komagataella phaffii), a methylotrophic yeast, is a proven platform for pharmaceutical protein production. However, its potential reaches far beyond. As a reliable, scalable, and cost-efficient platform for recombinant protein expression, Pichia is equally suited for industrial enzymes, food & feed, diagnostics, and biomaterials.

Iions.bio was founded in 2024 and is located in the Innovation and Startup Centre IZB in Planegg-Martinsried.

The European Commission last week unveiled its Life Sciences Strategy, which aims to elevate Europe’s biotechnology sector from third to first place globally by 2030, backed by an investment of €10bn. These funds are to be reallocated to food, agricultural, pharmaceutical and industrial biotechnology sectors.

In today’s rapidly evolving world, adapting to demand volatilities while ­ensuring uninterrupted supply of biological medicines is more critical than ever. At ­Boehringer Ingelheim, our global biopharmaceutical network delivers flexibility, resilience, and ­reliability. By leveraging harmonised procedures, standardised setups, and innovative logistics, we ­ensure the biologics we produce reach those in need – even during unexpected challenges.