SOFINNOVA-PARTNERS
16.5.2019 15:17:02 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
Sofinnova Partners, a leading European venture capital firm specialized in the life sciences, today announced that its portfolio company DNA Script, an industry leader in the manufacturing of synthetic nucleic acids using proprietary enzymatic technology, has raised $38.5 million in Series B financing. New shareholders LSP and BPIFrance joined the round, alongside existing shareholders Kurma Partners, Idinvest Partners, Illumina Ventures, and M Ventures (the corporate venture arm of Merck KGaA). Sofinnova Partners was the first institutional investor in DNA Script in 2016.
DNA Script is the world’s leading company in manufacturing synthetic nucleic acids using enzymatic technology. Founded in 2014 in Paris, the company aims to accelerate innovation in life sciences and technology delivering rapid, affordable, and high-quality DNA. Sixty years after the discovery of DNA, DNA Script’s revolutionary approach leverages billions of years of nature’s evolution in synthesizing DNA to enable genome scale synthesis.
The company offers a novel biochemical process for DNA and RNA synthesis, a fundamental tool used in biology research. At a recent academic conference, DNA Script presented its ability to synthesize 200nt of DNA with remarkable accuracy. This innovation may be used in numerous applications, including electronic data storage, by leveraging unprecedented capabilities of the molecule to store information. The fundraising allows DNA Script to further develop its unique enzymatic technology and nucleotide chemistry platform, and deliver the promise of same-day results.
Joško Bobanović, Partner at Sofinnova Partners, said: “We are excited that DNA Script, which we have backed from its first round of financing, was able to raise such a significant round. The company continues to deliver on its plan, and is now funded by a group of likeminded investors who support the team’s vision of creating a business that enables new applications for synthetic DNA and RNA in areas including drug discovery and development, agriculture, and industrial and food technologies.”
“Sofinnova Partners has been an excellent partner from a very early stage, just after the inception of our company,” said Thomas Ybert, CEO of DNA Script. “Since then, they have helped us on a daily basis to build DNA Script from the ground up. The team brings a strong expertise in the technology as well as one of the broadest global networks in the industry. Importantly, they also provide unconditional support and coaching to our entrepreneurs – whatever the challenge at hand,” he said.
This new funding reaffirms Sofinnova Partners’ investment strategy in the industrial biotech field, initiated in 2009. As a pioneer in this emerging and rapidly growing sector, Sofinnova Partners has a portfolio of 14 industrial biotech companies, backed through two dedicated funds: Sofinnova Green Seed Fund, which raised €22.5M in 2012, and Sofinnova IB I, which raised €125M in 2017.
About DNA Script
Founded in 2014 in Paris, DNA Script is the world’s leading company in manufacturing de novo synthetic nucleic acids using an enzymatic technology. The company aims to accelerate innovation in life sciences and technology through rapid, affordable and high-quality DNA synthesis. DNA Script’s approach leverages billions of years of natural evolution to enable genome-scale synthesis. The company’s technology has the potential to greatly accelerate the development of new therapeutics, enhanced diagnostics, sustainable chemical production, improved crops and DNA data storage.
About Sofinnova Partners
Sofinnova Partners is a leading European venture capital firm specialized in Life Sciences. Based in Paris, France, the firm brings together a team of professionals from all over Europe, the U.S. and China. The firm focuses on paradigm shifting technologies alongside visionary entrepreneurs. Sofinnova Partners seeks to invest as a lead or cornerstone investor in seed, start-ups, corporate spin-offs and late stage companies. It has backed nearly 500 companies over more than 45 years, creating market leaders around the globe. Today, Sofinnova Partners has over €1.9 billion under management. For more information: http://sofinnovapartners.com/ .
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190516005260/en/
Contact:
Kate Barrette RooneyPartners LLC kbarrette@rooneyco.com (212) 223-0561
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
FDA Issues Modified Risk Tobacco Product Orders for 20 ZYN Nicotine Pouch Products30.6.2026 18:19:00 CEST | Press release
FDA’s decision makes ZYN the first nicotine pouch product to receive MRTP orders authorizing reduced-risk claims versus cigarettes Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) orders for 20 variants of ZYN nicotine pouch products. These are the first MRTP orders granted for nicotine pouches, allowing PMI U.S. to market the following claim for the authorized ZYN products: “Using ZYN instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.” “FDA’s decision is an important moment for the more than 45 million legal-age nicotine consumers in America,” saidStacey Kennedy, PMI U.S. CEO. “Today’s news ensures these adultshave access to accurate, science-based information, including FDA-authorized evidence that switching from cigarettes to ZYN reduces the risk of smoking-related diseases like heart disease
Caidya Announces Strategic Combination with Simbec-Orion Bridging Early Scientific Insight and Global Clinical Execution30.6.2026 17:00:00 CEST | Press release
Caidya today announced a strategic combination with Simbec-Orion designed to close the divide between early scientific insight and global clinical execution. The combination of Caidya and Simbec-Orion creates a differentiated specialty clinical CRO platform that enables programs to scale, maintaining focus, speed, and accountability. The strategic combination brings together complementary strengths to create a more complete development partner for innovative biopharma companies. With established operations across Europe, the Americas, APAC, and China, the combined organization provides meaningful expertise and execution capabilities in the regions that matter most. Simbec-Orion brings early-phase clinical pharmacology capabilities alongside deep therapeutic expertise for later stage complex oncology and rare disease trials, helping sponsors shape critical decisions early in the development lifecycle. Together, the organizations strengthen their ability to support complex, cross-border
Archer® Proves Purpose-Built AI Beats General-Purpose LLMs on Regulatory Change Management: 95% Verified Accuracy, 80x Faster, 92% Lower Cost30.6.2026 16:13:00 CEST | Press release
In a head-to-head benchmark, a leading general-purpose LLM was confidently wrong 35% of the time on regulatory dates. Archer Evolv™ shipped zero errors. For enterprises deploying AI in compliance, a wrong date is a missed deadline. The more dangerous failure is a wrong answer the model returns with high confidence, one that flows silently into a compliance calendar and is only discovered after the window has passed. Archer® today released results showing purpose-built AI beats a general-purpose large language model (LLM) on regulatory work, and it’s not close. This head-to-head test compared Archer’s purpose-built, vertical-specific AI and proprietary data sets against a leading general-purpose LLM, on a core compliance task: determining the publication, effective and comment-close dates of regulatory documents across six jurisdictions. General-purpose models are a genuine breakthrough, and this is no referendum on their quality. The question Archer set out to answer is narrower and mo
Altasciences Supports Key Development Milestone for Steel Therapeutics’ Lead Therapeutic Candidate, Fizurex™30.6.2026 16:08:00 CEST | Press release
Altasciences, a leading drug development organization, today announced a significant milestone in the development of Steel Therapeutics, Inc.’s pivotal toxicology study for its lead product candidate, Fizurex™, for the treatment of anal fissures. The successful completion of the study plays a significant role in the advancement of Fizurex™ toward first-in-human trials. The GLP-compliant study demonstrated a favorable safety profile, which has advanced Steel Therapeutics' plans to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for Fizurex™ to the FDA in Q3 2026. Fizurex™, a patent-pending, single-use topical wipe, was designed to provide a standardized, accessible treatment option for a painful and often undertreated medical condition. The product builds on years of use through compounding pharmacy prescriptions and is now advancing toward clinical development and regulatory review. "We are proud to have supported Steel Therapeutics with the generation of the high-quality safety d
Interactive Brokers Expands Access to Korean Equities with Launch of Nextrade ATS30.6.2026 16:00:00 CEST | Press release
IB SmartRouting℠ Routes Orders to the Best Available Price Between KRX and Nextrade Interactive Brokers (Nasdaq: IBKR), an automated global broker, today announced the launch of select Korean equities through Nextrade, South Korea's first Alternative Trading System (ATS). The addition of Nextrade builds on Interactive Brokers' earlier launch of the Korea Exchange (KRX), through which it became the first major US-based broker to provide global investors with direct access to Korean equities. Clients trading on Nextrade benefit from significantly extended trading hours and access to additional liquidity. Interactive Brokers has enabled IB SmartRouting℠ across both the Korea Exchange (KRX) and Nextrade, automatically routing orders to the venue offering the best price. This helps clients achieve best execution while providing greater flexibility and more opportunities to participate in one of Asia's most dynamic equity markets. Korea's equity market ranks among the top global exchanges by
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