Orano Med – a subsidiary of the Orano group specialising 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 programmes, 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.
In November 2024, Orano Med laid the foundations for its Advanced Thorium Extraction Facility (ATEF) plant in Bessines-sur-Gartempe in Haute-Vienne, western France. 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 ATEF facility, scheduled for commissioning in 2027, represents a total investment of about EUR250 million (USD286 million), creating nearly 70 direct and 100 indirect jobs. The ATEF project has been selected under the France 2030 plan following the call for “Industrialisation and health capacities 2030” projects and will receive public support of EUR22 million.
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How the completed ATEF facility could look (Image: Orano)
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. Orano said the European Investment Bank’s (EIB’s) financing “secures long-term funding for the project, underscoring its strategic importance at the European level”.
For the EIB – the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States – this is the second loan agreement signed with the Orano group in just over a year. In March 2025, the EIB announced a EUR400 million loan agreement to finance the expansion of the Georges Besse II uranium enrichment plant at Orano’s Tricastin site in France.
“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,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. “Following the financing agreement of the uranium enrichment programme 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.”
Orano Med CEO Frédéric Desdouits 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 EUR125 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 centralised in France.”
Orano Med has lead-212 production facilities, laboratories and R&D centres in France and the USA.
