SOFINNOVA-PARTNERS
4.1.2024 17:01:29 CET | Business Wire | Press release
Sofinnova Partners (“Sofinnova"), a leading European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London, and Milan, announced that Dr. Joshua Makower, co-founder and director of the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign, has joined Sofinnova as an advisory Venture Partner.
Dr. Makower co-founded Stanford Biodesign with Dr. Paul Yock 23 years ago, creating the core curriculum — now known as "The Biodesign Process" — that has been used at Stanford and around the world to train hundreds of thousands of students and industry leaders who have gone on to advance medical innovation and improve the lives of countless patients.
He is the Founder & Executive Chairman of ExploraMed, a medical device incubator that has created eleven companies since 1995. Highlights from the ExploraMed portfolio include NeoTract, maker of a device and procedure to treat an enlarged prostate that was acquired by Teleflex; Acclarent, a creator of devices for minimally invasive sinus surgeries, which was bought by J&J; and TransVascular, a pioneer in transvascular procedures, acquired by Medtronic.
Dr. Makower was a longtime partner in NEA’s healthcare practice, advising the healthcare team and medtech/healthtech investing practice. He sits on the boards of six companies and holds more than 300 patents and patent applications.
Antoine Papiernik, Chairman and Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners, said: “We are incredibly fortunate to have Josh on board. For more than 28 years, he has played a key role in the evolution of the medical devices field — and in the education of those who wish to create technology that will make patients' lives easier."
Dr. Makower said: "I’m really looking forward to partnering with the team at Sofinnova Partners, having observed and respected the firm’s leadership and vision in the medical device space for many years. This is a firm that consistently leads investments in ventures that tackle important unsolved clinical needs with great success.”
Anne Osdoit, Partner at Sofinnova Partners, and a key member of the firm’s medtech accelerator, MD Start, said: "Josh literally wrote the book on designing biomedical technology. He is a giant in the field, and will lend us a formidable presence in the United States as we expand our medical devices incubation strategy globally.”
Dr. Makower has an MBA from Columbia University, an MD from the NYU School of Medicine, and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. He is also a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of The National Academy of Inventors and The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and was awarded the Coulter Award for Healthcare Innovation by the Biomedical Engineering Society in 2018.
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/20240104955859/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
Megaport Launches Storage, Unifying Its Automated Infrastructure Platform Alongside Compute and Network Offerings4.6.2026 00:47:00 CEST | Press release
Megaport Storage enables enterprises to run data-intensive workloads on dedicated software-defined infrastructure with cloud-like agility and predictable costs. Megaport Limited (ASX: MP1) (“Megaport”), a leading global automated infrastructure platform, today announced the launch of Megaport Storage, expanding its platform to deliver integrated compute, network, and storage services. Megaport Storage integrates high-performance, enterprise cloud storage directly into the Megaport Network and Latitude.sh compute platform, giving enterprises a unified foundation that covers the three key pillars of IT infrastructure: compute, network, and storage. The launch marks a culminating step in Megaport’s evolution, delivering predictable costs, seamless scalability, and direct data access wherever customers operate. “With the launch of Megaport Storage, we’re not just connecting your cloud anymore; we’re providing the foundation for it,” said Michael Reid, CEO of Megaport. “By aligning storage
C.H. Robinson Launches World's First AI Technology That Continually Assesses, Improves and Operates Global Supply Chains3.6.2026 18:00:00 CEST | Press release
The newest innovation for Managed Solutions, the Lean AI Engineer, is the brain of the system As the global leader in Lean AI supply chains, C.H. Robinson has built the first AI technology designed to both operate a shipper’s global supply chain and also continuously assess and improve its performance. Now serving the company’s 4PL Managed Solutions customers, a new Lean AI Engineer works in concert with the Lean AI Planner introduced last year to create one connected system that uniquely enhances a supply chain as it runs. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260520874794/en/ The Lean AI Engineer can assess an entire supply chain in 25 to 30 minutes and determine improvements before performance is impacted – compared to supply chain assessments that typically take up to four weeks and look backward at what has happened instead of what should happen. While the Lean AI Engineer delivers intel, the Lean AI Planner ma
Leading Global Brain Science Conference OHBM 2028 to Be Held in Yokohama3.6.2026 17:00:00 CEST | Press release
Yokohama has won the bid to host the 2028 Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM 2028), one of the world’s premier international conferences in brain science, further elevating the city’s presence as a global hub for international conventions and academic exchange. The meeting will take place at PACIFICO Yokohama from June 18–22 and will mark only the second time the meeting has been held in Japan. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260603787692/en/ YOKOHAMA JAPAN'S FIRST PORT OF CALL OHBM is a leading international academic society in the fields of brain imaging, neuroscience, and neurological-disease research. Its annual meeting attracts around 3,000 researchers, healthcare professionals, and industry representatives from around the world. OHBM 2028 will be organized in collaboration with the Japan Human Brain Mapping Society (JHBM, President: Yoshikazu Ugawa and Tetsuya Matsuda). The
Almarai Launches the 2026 Cycle of the World’s Largest Award for Food Security Research in Dryland Regions3.6.2026 16:31:00 CEST | Press release
The Almarai Prize - the international track of the Almarai Prize for Scientific Creativity - invites leading global research institutions and PhD‑holding scientists to nominate standout research that advances food security in dryland regions. Self‑nominations are not allowed; only PhD‑level nominators may submit, and institutions may nominate up to three projects. The prize totals USD 500,000 (SAR 1,875,000), awarded to one winning research project or institution. The 2026 cycle of the Almarai Prize, international track of the Almarai Prize for Scientific Creativity, has officially opened, calling on leading research institutions, distinguished scientists, and global experts to nominate pioneering research that advances food security in the world’s driest regions. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260603753914/en/ Almarai Launches the 2026 Cycle of the World’s Largest Award for Food Security Research in Dryland
Stabilizing Grids and Cutting Costs in Half: Europe Is Banking on Grid-Relevant Storage Systems3.6.2026 15:50:00 CEST | Press release
The European battery market is scaling up at record speed: According to the latest Solar+ Report from SolarPower Europe, at the end of 2025, the installed storage fleet in the EU had reached a total capacity of 40 gigawatts (GW) and a storage capacity of 77 gigawatt hours (GWh). This is an increase of over 45 percent compared to the previous year. By 2030, the study’s Solar+ scenario forecasts that capacity will quadruple to 171 GW, while storage capacity will increase eightfold to 598 GWh. As growing solar and wind capacities place increasing demands on European grids, storage systems will need to shift electricity over many hours. As a result, the average storage duration will go up from 1.9 to 3.5 hours. This represents a technological leap that underscores the need to establish more grid-relevant storage systems. Taking place in Munich from June 23–25, ees Europe will showcase how the industry is meeting this enormous demand. As Europe’s largest exhibition for batteries and energy
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