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French venture capital firms From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sofinnova is the name shared by two venture capital firms, Sofinnova Partners and Sofinnova Ventures. The name Sofinnova is a contraction of the French, "Société de Financement de l’Innovation" or, Innovation Venture Capital Company. Both firms trace their roots back to Sofinnova SA, an investment institution founded in Paris in 1972. The two firms have raised ~$4B since inception and have generally shared a similar investment strategy of financing projects and ideas in the life sciences and technology sectors. The firms distinguish themselves on the basis of their target geographies, stage of investment, and sectors. They have been independent entities since 1997.
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Sofinnova Partners and Sofinnova Ventures have historically shared some of the same Limited Partners, and have co-invested together in various life sciences companies including Flamel, Cerep, Genset, Actelion,[1] Preglem, Movetis, Ascendis, Obseva, Auris and Nucana. The firms have a collegial relationship and exchange information and due diligence. The firms do not have an obligation to disclose deals or to co-invest, but historically have co-invested together in ~10% of their collective investments.
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Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Private equity |
Founded | 1972 |
Headquarters | Paris, France |
Products | Venture capital |
Total assets | over €2 billion[2] |
Website |
Sofinnova Partners is an independent venture capital firm based in Paris, London, and Milan with approximately €2 billion of capital.[2] The firm invests primarily in early-stage companies and corporate spin-offs, in industrial biotechnology and in life sciences.
The Sofinnova Partners' flagship fund, Sofinnova Capital IX, raised €333M in 2019.[3]
Over the last few years, Sofinnova Partners has created a platform strategy to include multiple funds alongside its historic Capital Fund. This includes:
Each of these funds is managed by dedicated specialist teams and are unique investment vehicles across the life sciences investment value chain.
Sofinnova has financed over 500 companies around the world since its inception in 1972 of which more than 20% have successfully completed an initial public offering and more than 20% have been acquired by strategic buyers.
Sofinnova Partners most recently closed its Sofinnova Telethon Fund at €108 M[4] and has invested in 3 Italian biotech startups in the last 6 months. This fund specializes in early‐stage investments in gene and cell therapies and is based out of Milan, Italy. It also completed fundraising for its ninth private equity fund, Sofinnova Capital IX with €333M raised.
Some notable investments from the firm's flagship fund include Innate, Maximiles and NovusPharma from Sofinnova Capital III (€121M). Sofinnova Partners' Capital IV fund, which raised €330M of capital, made it one of the largest venture firms in Europe at the time. In 2005, Sofinnova Partners was named “Fund of the Year” by Private Equity International and “VC Techno House of the Year 2005” by the European Venture Capital Journal (EVCJ) which described Sofinnova's fundraising as the “Fundraising of the Year 2005”. This fund invested in a number of companies including Taptu. Sofinnova Partners has raised several venture capital funds (see Table).
Year | Amount | Fund |
---|---|---|
1989 | €38M | Sofinnova Capital I |
1994 | €47M | Sofinnova Capital II |
1998 | €121M | Sofinnova Capital III |
2001 | €330M | Sofinnova Capital IV |
2005 | €385M | Sofinnova Capital V |
2010 | €260M | Sofinnova Capital VI |
2012 | €240M | Sofinnova Capital VII |
2015 | €300M | Sofinnova Capital VIII |
2019 | €333M | Sofinnova Capital IX |
Source: Private Equity Intelligence and Sofinnova
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Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Venture Capital |
Founded | 1974 |
Headquarters | Menlo Park, California, United States |
Key people | Jim Healy, MD, PhD, Mike Powell, PhD, Alan Colowick, MD, Lars Ekman, MD, David Kabakoff, PhD, Dan Welch, Heather Behanna, Phd, Sarah Bhagat, PhD, Nathalie Auber, Hooman Shalavi, Charlotte Shropshire, Alain Azan (Retired), Jean Deleage (Deceased) |
Products | Investments |
Total assets | $1.9B[2] |
Number of employees | ~20 |
Website | www.sofinnova.com |
Sofinnova Ventures is an independent venture capital firm based in Menlo Park.
Sofinnova Ventures has been an active venture investor, investing in some well-known venture investments of the period. Sofinnova Ventures has backed companies including: Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Kosan Biosciences, Actelion, Intermune, Seattle Genetics, Cotherix, Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Prestwick, Preglem, Movetis, Intellikine, Amarin Corporation, Salveo, and Labrys.
The San Francisco office of Sofinnova Ventures was often remembered for having an original 18ft. Mosasaurus in the office of one of the Managing Partners (Mike Powell). Sofinnova Ventures closed their San Francisco office in 2011, and combined their Bay Area offices into a single office on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park.
Sofinnova Ventures has raised several venture capital funds (see Table). The earlier funds, SVP I through V, were predominantly information technology (IT), wherein the later funds were predominantly life science focused. SVP VIII and IX were exclusively life science only, with emphasis on Phase 2 and 3 drug development. SVP IV was Sofinnova Ventures' initial fund after the reorganization of Sofinnova in 1997. Each of the funds from SVP V through SVP IX exceeded the target raise, and closed at the maximum amount as allowed by the Limited Partner agreements.
Year | Amount | Fund |
---|---|---|
1984 | $6M | Sofinnova Venture Partners I |
1991 | $20M | Sofinnova Venture Partners II |
1994 | $31M | Sofinnova Venture Partners III |
1998 | $72M | Sofinnova Venture Partners IV |
2000 | $210M | Sofinnova Venture Partners V |
2003 | $250M | Sofinnova Venture Partners VI |
2007 | $375M | Sofinnova Venture Partners VII |
2011 | $440M | Sofinnova Venture Partners VIII |
2014 | $510M | Sofinnova Venture Partners IX |
Source: Private Equity Intelligence and Sofinnova.
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