SOFINNOVA-PARTNERS
13.12.2023 07:01:34 CET | Business Wire | Press release
Sofinnova Partners (“Sofinnova"), a leading European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London, and Milan, announced today the launch of Biovelocita, an investment strategy dedicated entirely to the creation and acceleration of biotech startups in Europe.
Biovelocita’s newly formed team will provide a hands-on, robust framework for startups, combining direct management, financial backing, and access to Sofinnova’s extensive infrastructure and network. The strategy builds upon Sofinnova’s established track record of nurturing innovative ventures within the healthcare and sustainability sectors. It draws inspiration from the achievements of Italy’s first biotech accelerator, BiovelocITA, co-founded by Gabriella Camboni, Silvano Spinelli and Sofinnova Partners in 2015, which has significantly contributed to the growth of the Italian biotech ecosystem.
Graziano Seghezzi, Managing Partner of Sofinnova Partners, said: “With Sofinnova Biovelocita, we are doubling down on our commitment to innovation and company creation in the life sciences. To improve and expand our company-creation toolbox, we have brought together a group of experienced investors and entrepreneurs who have been collaborating with Sofinnova for over a decade, some nearly two decades. With this top-tier team, we look forward to strengthening one of Sofinnova’s strategic pillars: acceleration, which is already making rapid strides in the medical device space with Sofinnova MD Start, our in-house medtech accelerator.”
Key partners of this initiative include:
- Gabriella Camboni, Partner, pivotal in the conception of this strategy as a co-founder and CEO of BiovelocITA. She also co-founded two Sofinnova companies, EOS (Ethical Oncology Science), serving as its COO until its acquisition by Clovis Oncology in 2013, and Novuspharma, which was acquired by Cell Therapeutics, Inc. in 2003.
- Matthieu Coutet, Partner, brings nearly two decades of experience in venture capital and operations, including significant contributions to the launch of biotech startups such as TherAchon and Annapurna Therapeutics, and the founding of AdBio Partners.
- Alex Leech, Partner, an experienced biopharma company builder and a serial CEO, most recently serving as the founding CEO of Alchemab Therapeutics, which raised an $82m Series A investment round.
- Zhizhong (Joel) Yao, Partner, a former Principal in the Sofinnova Capital Strategy, and a Kauffman Fellow, instrumental in the launch of several biotech start-ups. Holds a Harvard PhD in Chemical Biology and Systems Biology and did post-doctoral research at the French National Institute of Agricultural Research.
Seghezzi concluded: “We know from our extensive experience that close cooperation between top management teams, world-class scientists, and dedicated financing, forges the path for biotech champions of tomorrow. With this new strategy, we are poised to catalyze transformative innovation in biotechnology.”
About Sofinnova Partners
Sofinnova Partners is a leading European venture capital firm in life sciences, specializing in healthcare and sustainability. Based in Paris, London and Milan, the firm brings together a team of professionals from all over the world with strong scientific, medical and business expertise. Sofinnova Partners is a hands-on company builder across the entire value chain of life sciences investments, from seed to later-stage. The firm actively partners with ambitious entrepreneurs as a lead or cornerstone investor to develop transformative innovations that have the potential to positively impact our collective future.
Founded in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is a deeply established venture capital firm in Europe, with 50 years of experience backing over 500 companies and creating market leaders around the globe. Today, Sofinnova Partners has over €2.5 billion under management. For more information, please visit: sofinnovapartners.com.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231212907842/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Qorium Becomes Reyva as Cultivated Leather Company Moves Towards Commercial Scale2.11.2026 11:00:00 CET | Press release
New identity signals the company’s evolution into a standalone material brand for luxury and automotive markets Reyva develops real leather by cultivating bovine collagen from a small sample of animal cells. The new brand brings together advanced biotechnology, leather expertise and a clearer luxury proposition. The company’s team, technology, partnerships and commercial ambition continue under the new name. Qorium, the company that develops cultivated real leather, today announces that it is becoming Reyva. The new name and identity mark its next stage: moving from a pioneering technology business towards a global material brand built for the exacting standards of the luxury leather sector. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261102661351/en/ Reyva creates beautiful, high-performing real leather. By cultivating leather in uniform sheets, we can move beyond the natural limits of traditional hides, with greater con
Ant International Research Highlights How Readable AI Memories Can Unlock More Personalised, Privacy-conscious Consumer Experiences2.11.2026 09:52:00 CET | Press release
Human sales and customer representatives have institutional memories to serve clients: their preferences and choices. How can we build a memory mechanism for AI services to create similarly personalised experiences? Ant International’s research on this subject recently received the Senior Area Chair (SAC) Highlight Award from the Best Paper Committee at EMNLP 2026, a leading global AI conference. Why do we need “readable AI memory”? In this paper titled 'Text as a universal interface for transferable personalisation', we look into one fact: until now, AI memory of a user has usually been generated and stored as dense numerical code only the original system can interpret. Two long-standing problems with that: First, today's user profiles are "black boxes" — opaque code locked inside a single app, so activity in one service teaches nothing to another, and every product has to re-learn you from scratch. Second, profiles are welded to the model that created them, so they don't transfer whe
Liberis and Qred Complete Merger Following Regulatory Approval to Create Global SMB Financial Platform2.11.2026 09:00:00 CET | Press release
Key points The merger is complete following regulatory approval. The combined group serves more than 60,000 small businesses across 17 countries, with access to approximately 11.5 million addressable merchants. Emil Sunvisson becomes Group CEO and Rob Fairfield becomes Deputy CEO. Both brands, products, partner integrations and customer relationships continue as they do today. Liberis, a leading global embedded finance platform, and Qred, one of Europe’s foremost digital small business banks, today announced the completion of their merger, first announced in June 2026, following approval from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (SFSA). The merger combines Qred’s regulated banking capability and direct relationships with small businesses with Liberis’s embedded finance technology and distribution through more than 30 partners, including Deliveroo, Vagaro and Nexi. The group serves more than 60,000 small businesses across 17 countries and has access to approximately 11.5 million
Car Connectivity Consortium Expands Focus on Digital Access for Two-Wheelers and Micromobility2.11.2026 09:00:00 CET | Press release
Ahead of EICMA 2026, CCC highlights industry collaboration around secure, interoperable digital access for motorcycles, scooters, and other two-wheeled vehicles The Car Connectivity Consortium® (CCC), the global organization advancing interoperable connectivity between vehicles and devices, today highlighted its expanding work across the two-wheeler and micromobility markets ahead of EICMA 2026 in Milan, Italy. Through its Light Motor & Mobility Task Group (LMTG), CCC is bringing member companies together to address the distinct digital access needs of these markets and identify opportunities to advance standardization and interoperability. Key highlights of CCC's two-wheeler and micromobility work include: Addressing two-wheeler digital access needs: LMTG is examining requirements across motorcycles, scooters, e-bikes and other two- and three-wheeled vehicles. Exploring new applications for digital key technology: Member discussions include vehicle access and starting, access to vehic
OpenGate Capital Completes the Acquisition of Maersk Training, the Global Safety Training and Gas Safety Services Business of Maersk2.11.2026 09:00:00 CET | Press release
OpenGate Capital (“OpenGate”), a global private equity firm, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Maersk Training and its subsidiary Maersk H2S Safety Services. The company, a provider of global safety training and gas safety services, is being carved out from A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S (MAERSK A:CPH), a listed integrated logistics company. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Headquartered in Svendborg, Denmark, Maersk Training is a leading global provider of essential safety services and training. Through Maersk H2S Safety Services, the company provides specialized outsourced hydrogen sulphide and Health, Safety and Environment safety services for customers in high-risk operating environments. The H2S Safety Services team provides onsite supervision, monitoring and safety equipment maintenance where the safety of personnel and the protection of assets are critical. Through its training business, the company also delivers safety training, competency developmen
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom