SOFINNOVA-PARTNERS
30.6.2021 10:02:11 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
Sofinnova Partners , a leading European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London and Milan, announced today three new investments from the Sofinnova Telethon Fund, its early-stage fund dedicated to investments in rare, genetic diseases. The startups, AAVantgarde Bio , Alia Therapeutics , and Borea Therapeutics , are developing promising new therapies for rare, genetic diseases.
Graziano Seghezzi, Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners, commented: “These investments mark an important step in our mission to support the excellent scientific research coming out of Italian academic and research centers. They also highlight the exceptional flow of new investment opportunities in Italian biotech, and the important role that venture capital plays in enabling ground-breaking treatments to reach patients suffering from rare, genetic diseases who today have very few therapeutic options.”
The Sofinnova Telethon Fund is the largest fund entirely dedicated to biotechnology in Italy. The team is led by technology transfer specialists Lucia Faccio and Paola Pozzi, Partners at Sofinnova Partners, who are based in the firm’s Milan office.
The three new seed investments, totaling €6M, align with the fund’s investment strategy to seek out and support the best Italian science and the most promising entrepreneurs to develop world-class companies in the field of rare, genetic diseases.
AAVantgarde Bio, based in Milan, is developing gene therapies for inherited retinal disorders. The founder, Professor Alberto Auricchio, is a highly recognized scientist and a pioneer in the field of gene therapy. The company’s technology builds on existing AAV, or adeno-associated virus-based platforms, which are the main viral vector technology used in gene therapy applications. Existing AAV-based platforms have been limited by capacity, and AAVantgarde Bio responds to this challenge by enabling delivery of large genes to tissue and cells in vivo. The company is a spin-off of TIGEM, an international research institute based in Naples that is owned and managed by the Telethon Foundation.
Alia Therapeutics, based in Trento, is developing next generation CRISPR-based medicine for safer on-target in vivo gene editing approaches to the treatment of retinal degeneration. Alia is a spin-off of the University of Trento and was accelerated at BiovelocITA, Italy’s first biotechnology accelerator co-founded in 2015 by Sofinnova Partners and two serial entrepreneurs, Silvano Spinelli and Gabriella Camboni. It is the second company to emerge from the accelerator, following the success of Enthera Pharmaceuticals, another Italian startup that is part of Sofinnova Partners’ portfolio. This round of financing also included participation from BiovelocITA, Indaco Venture Partners, and a group of Italian investors brought together by Banor SIM and Banca Profilo.
Ms. Pozzi, Partner at Sofinnova Partners, board member of AAVantgarde Bio and an investment partner in Alia Therapeutics, commented: “We are delighted to support these innovative biotech startups as they advance promising programs towards preclinical and clinical development. Both companies have highly qualified scientific teams with globally recognized expertise in the field of gene therapy and gene editing. We are confident in the potential of these companies to tackle the limitations of existing therapies and develop treatments to diseases that do not have adequate solutions today.”
Borea Therapeutics, based in Milan, is advancing a new generation of gene therapies that would enable targeting of specific tissues and cells. The company’s innovative technology could enable viral vectors to reach areas like the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS), thus opening the door to new therapeutic options. Borea Therapeutics was co-founded by Professor Paul Heppenstall and the European Molecular Biology Lab (EMBL), an intergovernmental research organization with six research sites throughout Europe, including one in Rome. The company’s research activities are performed in collaboration with Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), a scientific center of excellence in Trieste.
Ms. Faccio, Partner at Sofinnova Partners and a board member of Borea Therapeutics, commented: “One of the major limitations of gene therapy is the difficulty of selectively targeting specific cells or tissues. Borea Therapeutics’ technology has the potential to pinpoint specific tissues and cells, which would enable the use of lower doses, making treatment safer and more effective for patients. This could be the next breakthrough in gene therapy.”
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 billion under management. For more information, please visit: www.sofinnovapartners.com
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210630005320/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
IFF Secures First Heart Health Claim for Soy Protein in Australia and New Zealand31.3.2026 16:00:00 CEST | Press release
Regulatory milestone opens heart health growth opportunities for food and beverage manufacturers IFF (NYSE: IFF), a global leader in flavors, fragrances, food ingredients and health & biosciences announced today that a new heart health claim for isolated soy protein has been accepted by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). The approval enables food and beverage manufacturers in Australia and New Zealand to link soy protein consumption with healthy blood cholesterol levels. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260330523416/en/ First heart health claim approved for soy protein in Australia and New Zealand. “For decades, IFF has invested in the science behind soy protein and its role in supporting cardiovascular health,” said Tony Andrew, vice president of protein solutions for IFF Food Ingredients. “This approved claim validates years of rigorous research and collaboration. With our deep expertise in ing
Sub-Q Bionics Closes $1.5M Pre-Seed Round to Advance Next-Generation Solution for Lymphedema Care31.3.2026 15:26:00 CEST | Press release
Sub-Q Bionics, a medical device company developing next-generation solutions to improve care for patients living with lymphedema, today announced the successful close of its $1.5 million pre-seed funding round. The round includes investment from Mayo Clinic and Yeda, the technology transfer company of the Weizmann Institute of Science, as well as several private investors. The Israel Innovation Authority also provided matching funds. The funding will enable Sub-Q Bionics to continue to develop its novel bionic lymph node technology designed to transform how lymphedema is managed, based on scientific innovations from the Weizmann Institute and Shamir Medical Center. The system aims to provide a solution to manage fluid with a subcutaneous implant that will allow patients freedom of movement, automatic fluid management and reduction of symptoms such as pain and swelling. Lymphedema affects millions of patients worldwide, especially breast cancer survivors, and remains significantly under
HTEC Achieves SOC 2 Type II Attestation, Reinforcing Commitment to Client Trust31.3.2026 15:25:00 CEST | Press release
HTECtoday announced that it has successfully achieved a SOC 2 Type II attestation, audited by Deloitte, demonstrating the company’s commitment to maintaining high standards in security, availability, and confidentiality. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260331132225/en/ HTEC today announced that it has successfully achieved a SOC 2 Type II attestation, audited by Deloitte, demonstrating the company’s commitment to maintaining high standards in security, availability, and confidentiality. For clients, this means working with a technology partner whose practices are standardized, consistently executed, and independently verified over time. It reflects a level of operational maturity where security, reliability, and data protection are built into every engagement. Achieving this standard required coordinated effort across the entire organization. Compliance, engineering, delivery, security, IT, legal, and people t
Impartner Redefines Partner Marketing Automation with Full Automation, AdTech and AI to Drive Measurable Revenue31.3.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
New automation and AI capabilities connect partner campaigns and engagement directly to pipeline and revenue outcomes. Impartner, the world’s leading partner revenue orchestration platform, today announced a major advancement that unifies partner marketing automation within the platform, powered by full automation, AdTech and AI to turn partner marketing into measurable revenue. As partner ecosystems expand across regions, marketplaces and multi-tier models, marketing execution has often remained fragmented. Impartner eliminates those gaps by unifying recruitment, enablement, campaign automation and performance tracking within a single operational system, making partner demand generation and marketing fully operational, measurable, and scalable across all partner interactions. “What makes partner marketing successful is not content distribution, it’s execution, scale and measurable pipeline and revenue,” said Emile van de Klok, Senior Director of Channel Marketing Solutions at Impartne
Boomi Named a Leader in IDC MarketScape for Worldwide API Management 202631.3.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Boomi™, the data activation company, today announced it has been named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide API Management 2026 Vendor Assessment, which evaluates vendors based on their capabilities and strategies for delivering API management solutions (APIM) in an increasingly AI-driven, hybrid enterprise landscape. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260331354139/en/ Boomi Named a Leader in IDC MarketScape for Worldwide API Management 2026 As enterprises accelerate adoption of agentic AI and hybrid architectures, the need to govern and scale APIs across increasingly complex environments has become a strategic priority. APIs are central to enabling secure, reusable, and agent-ready access to applications and data. Boomi’s API management solution, with an enterprise-grade gateway and advanced federation capabilities, enables organizations to design, secure, and manage APIs seamlessly across distributed runt
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