Finnish health innovation company Nightingale Health has secured a €20 million loan from the European Investment Bank EIB to boost research and development of the Helsinki-based firm’s bloody analysis technology which makes it easier to predict and prevent chronic diseases like diabetes and heart diseases. .
“Nightingale wants to create a world where healthcare keeps people healthy throughout their lifetimes, not just whenever they get sick” says CEO and founder Teemu Suna.
Suna founded the company in 2013 to bring together innovations from biotechnology, medicine and computer sciences. He says that their technology can give doctors accurate predictions of chronic disease risks for patients, and make personal care plans easier.
“Not only will this transform how we treat common diseases […] it will also significantly reduce the current economic burden on healthcare systems and workforces” explains Suna.
The signing ceremony was attended by two former Finnish Prime Ministers, Jyrki Katainen in his capacity as European Vice President responsible for jobs, growth, investment and competitiveness; and Alexander Stubb who is an European Investment Bank Vice President.
The €20 million EIB loan is being matched with €20 million from Nightingale, and the loan is backed by the EIB under the auspices of the ‘Juncker Plan’, which is trying to remove obstacles to development for EU companies; provide visibility and technical assistance to investment projects, and to make smarter use of financial resources.
