The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing Poland’s largest pharmaceuticals producer Polpharma with a PLN200mn (€45mn) loan, the EBRD said on June 28.

The loan will finance Polpharma general and corporate purposes including in-house R&D activities, green investments and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) strategy.

Investment in new technologies will unlock the development of new substances and products in currently unavailable niches, the EBRD said. The loan will also be used for the implementation of Polpharma’s “Go green” modernisation programme aimed at minimising the environmental and climate impact of the company’s operations. 

Generating more energy from renewable sources, energy efficiency improvements and usage of innovative technology will allow Polpharma to reduce CO2 emissions by 16,500 tonnes annually.

As a part of the ESG strategy, Polpharma will also implement a number of gender-focused activities, including the first formal Diversity and Inclusion Policy, as well as disseminating "best practices around gender inclusion within the broader community and opening up discussions around women’s economic empowerment in Poland." 

Polpharma is among the top generic drug manufacturers in CEE and offers modern drugs and innovative solutions. The company operates manufacturing sites and R&D centres in Poland and Kazakhstan. 

Polpharma has also played an important role in combatting the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic in Poland. The company has commercialised the first generation of PCR coronavirus tests developed by the Polish Academy of Sciences.