Pursuing innovation is often risky. However, taking risks can lead to breakthrough advancements in technology and healthcare. We’ve seen it happen before. When companies aim to innovate, they can transform their business and the lives of their patients or customers.
Venture capitalists are similar to innovators in this regard in that they can transform innovative ideas into reality. Their belief in the innovative power of startups has helped many early-stage ventures move beyond their seed phase and become well-established businesses, bringing significant change to the world.
Sofinnova Partners is one such venture capital firm that has been investing and building transformative healthcare startups, addressing unmet medical needs since 1972. Based in London, Paris, and Milan, it invests mainly in early-stage life sciences startups, with a shared interest in seed and late-stage companies. This includes biotechnology, industrial biotechnology, biopharmaceutical, and pharmaceutical companies.
Since its establishment, it has invested in more than 500 companies. More than 20% of its financed companies have completed initial public offerings (IPOs) and about the same number have been acquired by large corporations. Meanwhile, it manages over €2.5 billion of assets.
The VC firm is currently led by Antoine Papiernik (Chairman & Managing Partner) with three other managing partners: Graziano Seghezzi, Monique Saulnier, and Henrijette Richter.
In this article, we will review investments made by Sofinnova Partners and its fundraising and investment strategies.
With a focus on healthcare and sustainability, Sofinnova Partners invests in life science companies across the entire value chain. It has raised several venture capital funds to invest in and support companies’ growth with a strategic approach and a dedicated team.
Sofinnova’s funds are a part of its distinct five investment strategies, which includes:
According to a news article published in WSJ, the company raised $548 million to create the largest fund in 2021 in Europe for early-stage investment in healthcare startups.
Sofinnova’s capital strategy focuses on the most promising early-stage biopharmaceuticals and medtech startups pioneering therapeutic technologies and transforming patients’ lives. Sofinnova Capital X is the 10th iteration of its flagship fund that’s primarily committed to building and supporting early-stage companies in Europe.
Here’re a few companies that earned the Sofinnova Capital investment:
Sofinnova MD Start strategy is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs with unique and ground-breaking ideas to develop therapeutic medical devices. Below are a few companies that earned Sofinnova’s MD start fund for their R&D:
Launched in 2018, the Crossover Strategy is geared towards life sciences companies, focusing on startups with initial proof of concept. It can be a seed-, early-, or later-stage company with breakthrough science.
Here’re some examples of the companies funded through Crossover Strategy:
Sofinnova’s industrial biotech fund was created to invest in early-stage biotechnology companies developing sustainable solutions in the food, agriculture, chemicals, and materials industries.
A few companies in this category are:
The Telethon strategy focuses on bringing Italy’s scientific excellence in rare genetic disorders to the world stage. Sofinnova supports Italian biotechs as they push their research programs towards preclinical and clinical development, and help create a thriving biotech ecosystem in Italy.
Some of the companies that received the Sofinnova Telethon Fund are:
If you’re interested in learning more about Sofinnova, its news, trends, or investment strategies, visit Sofinnova Partners.
Sofinnova is a venture capital firm committed to tackling healthcare challenges by investing in companies with ground-breaking ideas. Its investment interests lie in a range of life science companies including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, biopharma, and medical device companies.
It has five investment strategies through which it raises funds to support companies with game-changing science — irrespective of whether it’s a seed stage, early stage, or later stage company.
While Sofinnova may be an ideal partner for you, it’s not going to be easy to get the attention of this leading venture capital firm without an initial proof of concept and promising scientific data. You’re going to need a solid project and presentation to prove your vision has feasibility. Sometimes, this requires having a number of specialized lab instruments or systems, including high-throughput equipment that produces accurate and reliable data.
But, purchasing equipment outright can pose a serious financial burden for newly formed laboratories. Excedr’s leasing program offers an alternative life sciences startups can rely on to outfit their lab space without using their entire budget on equipment procurement.
We offer a customized, affordable program that enables you to equip your lab with all your required equipment, from cutting-edge life science and clinical equipment to lab-safety and general biology instruments that together can help you accelerate your research process and produce meaningful results; data that can help convince a VC firm you’re worth investing in.
