EIB supports scaling of SDS Optic's photonic cancer detection platform

The European Investment Bank signed a loan agreement for up to €10 million with SDS Optic Inc., a Lublin based Polish medtech company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange under the ticker NC:SDS. The funding is intended to accelerate research and development and the commercial roll out of inPROBE, a photonic biosensing platform the company bills as capable of real time, single cell resolution diagnostics and monitoring of cancer. The operation is backed by the InvestEU programme, which the European Commission designed to mobilise large-scale public and private investment across strategic sectors.

Deal specifics and public backing

The EIB statement and associated press material make three practical points. First, the loan facility is up to €10 million and is intended to support development and commercialisation activities. Second, SDS Optic previously received almost €4 million through the European Innovation Council Accelerator under the SDS OmiProbe project. Third, the operation benefits from InvestEU backing which increases the EIB's risk capacity and is meant to leverage further private capital.

Public comment in the coverage highlighted institutional support for innovation and health technology. EIB Vice President Teresa Czerwińska said the bank prioritises research and innovation and welcomed cooperation with an ambitious Polish medtech company. European Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni said the investment underlines the EU commitment to improving diagnostics and to positioning Europe at the cutting edge of health technology. SDS Optic's CEO Marcin Staniszewski framed the loan as an acceleration of commercialisation and a vote of confidence after EIB verification of the company's scientific data.

What inPROBE is and how it works

Funding history and timeline

SDS Optic has combined EU innovation grant funding with private and institutional financing to progress its technology. The EIC Accelerator previously provided nearly €4 million under a project called SDS OmiProbe. The EIB loan is positioned as follow on capital to move the product beyond prototype and early validation toward commercial scale and market introduction.

Why the EU institutions are promoting this deal

European institutions consistently present such operations as advancing three policy goals at once. First, health outcomes by improving diagnostics and treatment monitoring. Second, industrial competitiveness by developing high value deep tech medtech in Europe. Third, territorial cohesion by supporting growth in less developed regions. The EIB specifically noted the project will support advanced research activities in a less developed region of the EU by per capita income measures.

The EIB also frames the loan in the context of its broader support for research, innovation and human capital. The bank reported backing of nearly €18 billion globally for these sectors in 2022 and €4.65 billion in Poland between 2018 and 2022.

Open questions and practical challenges

Public announcements typically emphasise potential. A balanced view requires highlighting the technical, clinical and commercial steps that remain. These include independent clinical validation, regulatory clearance in relevant markets, integration into clinical workflows, convincing clinicians and hospital procurement bodies, securing reimbursement, and scaling reliable manufacturing for medical devices.

Context in the EU innovation landscape

The SDS Optic operation is a typical example of how the European innovation ecosystem blends grant support and concessional finance to de risk early stage deep tech. The EIC Accelerator provides non dilutive funding and grants to help reach key validation milestones. Instruments like InvestEU and EIB loans aim to bridge later funding gaps that neither early stage grants nor private venture capital always cover. This mix is designed to improve the odds that technologies developed in Europe reach commercial scale within the single market and beyond.

However the availability of public finance does not eliminate market risk. For many deep tech medtech firms the hardest steps are clinical proof of concept, regulatory clearance, achieving reimbursement and convincing clinicians to change practice. Each step requires different capabilities and partners, including hospital networks, contract research organisations, regulatory consultants and early adopter clinicians.

Implications for regional development and cohesion

EIB communications highlighted that the transaction supports advanced research activity in a less developed region of the Union. That aligns with EU cohesion goals which pursue balanced territorial development. Deploying high technology manufacturing and R and D in places outside major innovation clusters can create jobs and skills locally. The challenge will be sustaining long term growth and building supply chains for medtech components.

Conclusion

Institutional backing from the EIB and InvestEU is meaningful for a small medtech company. It should improve SDS Optic's ability to fund R and D and to enter markets faster than without such support. That said, the announcement is an early stage financing milestone rather than proof of clinical or commercial success. Independent clinical validation, regulatory approvals and concrete adoption by health systems remain necessary before the technology can deliver the broad patient benefits claimed by the company and promoted by institutional partners.