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    JENNEWEIN (EGFF)

    Sweet finance for breast milk

    Jennewein is a highly innovative biotech company with a breakthrough technology for the production of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), which form essential parts of human breast milk and have beneficial health impacts.

    Status
    First signature
    Signed
    20/07/2018
    Amount
    EUR 15,000,000
    Countries
    Germany
    Sector(s)
    Services
    See more

    Signature(s)

    Amount
    € 15,000,000
    Countries
    Sector(s)
    Germany : € 15,000,000
    Services : € 15,000,000
    Signature date(s)
    20/07/2018 : € 7,500,000
    20/07/2018 : € 7,500,000
    Link to source
    Data sheet

    Summary sheet

    Release date
    31 July 2018
    Status
    Reference
    Signed | 20/07/2018
    20180330
    Project name
    Promoter - financial intermediary
    JENNEWEIN (EGFF)
    JENNEWEIN BIOTECHNOLOGIE GMBH
    Proposed EIB finance (Approximate amount)
    Total cost (Approximate amount)
    EUR 15 million
    EUR 40 million
    Location
    Sector(s)
    • Services - Professional, scientific and technical activities
    Description
    Objectives

    Jennewein is a highly innovative German biotechnology food company focused on novel production processes for the synthesis of human milk oligosaccharides (functional nutritive sugars) for a wide range of applications, including nutritional, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.

    The project will cover research and development (R&D) costs, both operational expenditure (OPEX) and capital expenditure (CAPEX) related to the up-scaling of the production of the human milk oligosaccharides, clinical trials for the new products and related R&D activities.

    Environmental aspects
    Procurement

    The project mainly concerns investments in R&D that are expected to be carried out in existing facilities already authorised for the same purpose and would therefore not require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) under the Directive 2011/92/EU. Full environmental details will be verified during the appraisal.

    The promoter is a private company, not operating in the utilities sector and does not have the status of a contracting authority; thus the project is not subject to the EU directives on procurement.

    Link to source
    Summary sheet

    Disclaimer

    Before financing approval by the Board of Directors, and before loan signature, projects are under appraisal and negotiation. The information and data provided on this page are therefore indicative.
    They are provided for transparency purposes only and cannot be considered to represent official EIB policy (see also the Explanatory notes).

    Documents

    Environmental and Social Data Sheet (ESDS) - JENNEWEIN (EGFF)
    Publication Date
    15 Aug 2018
    Document language
    Main Topic
    Lending
    Document Number
    84778160
    Document Focus
    Environmental Information
    Project Number
    20180330
    Sector(s)
    Regions
    Countries
    Publicly available
    Download now
    scoreboard - EUROPEAN GROWTH FINANCE FACILITY
    Publication Date
    13 Sep 2019
    Document Language
    English
    Main Topic
    lending
    Document Number
    122912044
    Document Focus
    EFSI legal requirements
    Document Type
    Scoreboard
    Project Number
    20180667
    Last update
    19 Aug 2020
    Sector(s)
    Services
    Countries
    Bulgaria, Kenya, Ghana, Mexico, Philippines
    Publicly available
    Download now

    News & Stories

    Inside the project

    How and Why

    A breakthrough technology

    Why

    • Multinationals had tried to figure out how to manufacture oligosaccharides at a price low enough to make mass production feasible. Jennewein actually did it
    • To build a R&D centre to expand human milk oligosaccharides product portfolio and increase production capacity
    • Fill a market gap as commercial banks are reluctant to invest in an early-stage company in a new and innovative market.

    How

    • Financing in the form of venture debt with equity-like remuneration 
    • Because it’s not an actual equity investment, Jennewein’s founders and early investors retain their stake in the company, instead of diluting it.

    Impact

    Preventing infectious diseases

    • Key health benefits:  bacterial and viral infection reduction, improved digestive health, zero calories
    • HMOs could also have a positive impact on brain development, skin aging and allergies. These health benefits open a range of large potential markets, from infant nutrition to functional foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics
    • Jennewein was able to reach the next stage in its progress three years faster than it would have done with traditional financing available for companies in similar stage of maturity.
    European Investment Bank financing helps ensure that firms like Jennewein can grow in Europe, rather than taking their innovations to the United States for support and development.
    Werner Hoyer

    President of the European Investment Bank

    2015

    € 10 million

    under InnovFin Growth Finance Initiative to launch the company’s first plant

    Shutterstock

    Story

    Next stage for synthesised human breast milk sugar

    2018

    € 15 million

    under the European Fund for Strategic Investments, which combined financing from the EU bank with an EU budget guarantee.

    Human milk is important to babies because it contains complex sugars called human milk oligosaccharides. This natural sugar source reduces the risk of infectious diseases in children by up to 50% and promotes the growth of organs, including the brain. Human breast milk is unique in its high level of oligosaccharides.

    Jennewein

    That’s also an impulse for this next stage in Jennewein’s progress. The company is partnering with Chr. Hansen, a larger company with industrial-level operations, so that it can produce sufficient quantities of breast milk to attract contracts to supply the big Far Eastern market. Hansen, a global bioscience Danish company acquired all shares in Jennewein. It plans to invest €200 million by 2025 in new production facilities.

    Jennewein is one of the first companies to benefit from the European Investment Bank’s venture debt financial instruments, loans designed to support growing companies without putting pressure on their cash flows.

    Venture debt, which is also called quasi-equity, allowed the EU bank to take on the risk of financing Jennewein’s developing technology with loans in 2015 and 2018. The instrument has proved how successful it can be, as Jennewein moves to the next stage of its industrial development with its takeover by the larger Danish company.

    This is an excellent example of the type of firm we can advance in Europe, and the key is providing the right financing ecosystem.
    President Werner Hoyer

    European Investment Bank

    Financing health and innovation

    European Investment Bank financing helps ensure that firms like Jennewein can grow in Europe, rather than taking their innovations to the United States for support and development.

    Healthcare plays an important role in the EU’s economy, accounting for 8% of the total workforce and for 10% of its GDP. As the EU bank, we support healthcare projects that aim to ensure universal access to high-quality, safe and affordable services.

    The life sciences are a vital economic sector with innovation at their very core. Continued development of the industry is crucial to ensure the health and well-being of European Union citizens, whilst stimulating research and development and contributing to the EU’s global competitiveness.

    Getty Images


    Whether it’s for our health, our children or our elderly, in future care will be based on innovative models. Meet the people already putting those new ideas into practice.

    General enquiries and comments

    The EIB is committed to open communication and encourages constructive stakeholder input regarding its activities.
    Enquiries and comments concerning the EIB’s involvement in a project or the financing facilities, activities, organisation and objectives of the EIB, can be sent to the EIB Infodesk.
    Alternatively, the EIB can be contacted through its external offices.
    Queries regarding details of a specific project, in particular when it is under appraisal by the EIB, should preferably be addressed directly to project promoters.

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