SOFINNOVA-PARTNERS
2.7.2020 07:02:06 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
Sofinnova Partners, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London and Milan, announced today the second investment from its MD Start III Fund, a medtech accelerator that actively works with clinicians and entrepreneurs to develop disruptive medical devices. In May 2019, the fund raised €48 million from key institutional investors and has made two seed investments so far: MastOR and Gradient Denervation Technologies. The most recent investment is in MastOR, a French company leveraging its core expertise in surgical robotics to develop enhanced laparoscopic devices to improve the precision and ergonomics of minimally-invasive surgery. The company was founded in 2019 by a renowned pioneer in laparoscopic surgery, Professor Brice Gayet of the Paris-based Institut Mutualiste Montsouris, and entrepreneur, Pierre Campredon.
“The Sofinnova MD Start team is known for its active, hands-on approach to company building,” said Prof. Gayet. “Their strategic and operational expertise is the perfect complement to the years of research and prototyping we have conducted thus far. Together, we will be able to accelerate the development of this game-changing technology and bring it to its full potential.”
MD Start III also invested in Gradient Denervation Technologies in February. The company is developing a medical device for a transvascular treatment of pulmonary hypertension, based on prior research and intellectual property developed at Stanford University. This has been an important area for MD Start, given its focus on interventional cardiology as a very innovation-savvy and fast-adopting medical community.
“These investments exemplify our mission of transforming innovative ideas into medical realities and backing inventors who are developing disruptive concepts for outstanding medical devices and procedures,” said Anne Osdoit, Partner at Sofinnova Partners. “Our network and partnerships have yielded a rich deal flow pipeline and we are confident in the potential for this fund to continue uncovering first-class devices that address major unmet medical needs.”
About Sofinnova Partners
Sofinnova Partners is a leading European venture capital firm specialized in Life Sciences. Based in Paris, France, with offices in London and Milan, the firm brings together a team of 40 professionals from all over Europe, the U.S. and Asia. The firm focuses on paradigm-shifting technologies alongside visionary entrepreneurs. Sofinnova Partners invests across the Life Sciences value chain as a lead or cornerstone investor, from very early-stage opportunities to late-stage/public companies. It has backed nearly 500 companies over more than 48 years, creating market leaders around the globe. Today, Sofinnova Partners has over €2 billion under management. For more information, please visit: www.sofinnovapartners.com
About MastOR
MastOR SAS is a Paris-based, early stage medical device company, developing a surgical robot for laparoscopy assistance. It is a privately held portfolio company of Sofinnova Partners, financed through the MD Start III Fund. The core technology is derived from joint research between the ISIR robotics lab at Sorbonne University and Professor Brice Gayet, a world-renowned surgeon and pioneer in minimally-invasive surgery. For more information, please visit: www.mastor-surgical.com
About Gradient Denervation Technologies
Gradient Denervation Technologies develops a device-based minimally invasive solution for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension with technology derived from an invention by clinicians from Stanford University. It is a privately held portfolio company of Sofinnova Partners, financed through the MD Start III Fund and based in Paris, France. For more information, please visit: www.gradientdenervation.com
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200701005947/en/
Link:
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
euroAtlantic Airways Adds Second A330-300, Expanding Widebody Capacity28.10.2026 11:00:00 CET | Press release
euroAtlantic Airways (“EAA”), a Njord Partners portfolio company and a Portuguese ACMI and charter airline, has added a second Airbus A330-300 leased from Jackson Square Aviation (JSA), further expanding its widebody capacity. The second aircraft arrived in Portugal on 28 October 2026, bringing EAA’s total fleet size to eight. The first aircraft, CS-TGI, has already been inducted into EAA’s Air Operator Certificate and is operating commercial flights, including short-term ACMI and charter assignments. The second aircraft, an Airbus A330-300 which will carry the registration CS-TGJ, will now go through induction into EAA’s Air Operator Certificate, subject to the usual regulatory approvals. Both aircraft are leased from JSA and seat 290 passengers across three classes. The addition of the second aircraft strengthens EAA’s ability to serve a diversified range of customer requirements across global markets. In line with its long-term plans, EAA is well positioned for continued disciplined
Blue Matter Acquires Cognite, a Leading Healthcare Communications Agency28.10.2026 11:00:00 CET | Press release
Blue Matter, a world-class consulting firm serving the life sciences industry, today announced the acquisition of Cognite, a leading global healthcare communications agency that helps pharmaceutical and biotech companies bring science to life through an impressive range of scientific, medical, and commercial communications services. Cognite represents a significant step forward in strengthening Blue Matter’s growing range of communications capabilities. “Blue Matter is recognized as a valuable strategic resource and a thought leader when it comes to corporate, portfolio, product, and functional strategy in biopharma,” said Blue Matter CEO Ashwin Dandekar. “Over the past few years, we’ve been systematically bringing together the creative and communications capabilities that are often so crucial to bringing those strategies to life with healthcare providers, patients, payers, investors, and other stakeholders. Cognite’s array of capabilities, creativity, and team culture are a perfect fi
Financial Services Increases AI Investment Faster Than Wider Market, While Maturity Remains Level28.10.2026 09:56:00 CET | Press release
HTEC research finds 42% of financial services and insurance executives report significantly increased AI investment, compared with 28% across industries, while AI maturity remains in line with the wider market HTEC, the global AI technology and engineering leader, today released its research on AI Value realization in financial services and Insurance. Organizations in this sector are increasing AI investment more aggressively than the wider market, but the sector has yet to establish a corresponding lead in AI maturity, according to new research from HTEC. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261028854882/en/ HTEC, the global AI technology and engineering leader, today released its research on AI Value realization in financial services and Insurance. Organizations in this sector are increasing AI investment more aggressively than the wider market, but the sector has yet to establish a corresponding lead in AI matur
Powens Launches Connector Agentic Factory, an AI System to Build and Fix Open Finance Connectors28.10.2026 09:00:00 CET | Press release
A new chapter in Powens' ambition: Connector Agentic Factory is Powens' new AI system to build, extend and repair Open Finance connectors, a key step toward becoming the most complete and reliable Open Finance infrastructure in EuropeAlready at work: 12 new connectors delivered across Europe, and repairs completed in minutes rather than daysNo control loss: every connector the AI proposes is still reviewed and approved by Powens engineers before it goes live Powens, a leading European Open Finance infrastructure provider, today announced the launch of its Connector Agentic Factory, an internal AI system that is capable of building new Open Finance connectors and repairing existing ones. Connectors are the technical links that let banks, fintechs, and financial apps securely retrieve a customer's financial data, or make payments, from a bank or other institution. Powens maintains more than 1,800 of them across Europe, and they underpin the services that banks, fintechs, lenders, wealth
Ant International CEO: Achieving Inclusion Is Critical to Re-Globalisation, and AI Will Accelerate It by Democratising Opportunities28.10.2026 07:24:00 CET | Press release
Speaking at the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Forum 2026 panel, “Investing in AI for an Inclusive Digital Future”, Ant International CEO Peng Yang called for a new, inclusive “re-globalisation” project that harnesses AI and digital connectivity to give small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) greater access to global markets and opportunities. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261027567337/en/ Ant International CEO Peng Yang speaks at the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Forum 2026 “Globalisation 1.0 mostly benefited large enterprises, and a lot of SMEs very rarely got to participate in the global economy,” said Yang. “Achieving inclusion is critical to re-globalisation, and AI will accelerate it by democratising opportunities.” 1. The limitation of Globalisation 1.0 and how AI and other innovations offer a chance to improve Yang said one of the gre
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