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Sofinnova Partners
Sofinnova Partners is a Paris-based venture capital firm specializing in life sciences since 1972. Chaired by Antoine Papiernik, it manages €2.5–3.5B.
Sofinnova Partners
Sofinnova Partners was founded in 1972 in Paris, making it one of the earliest independent venture capital firms in Europe. Chairman and Managing Partner Antoine Papiernik has been with the firm since 1997, steering its evolution into a specialized life sciences platform. The firm's lineage traces back to the founding of Sofinnova in the United States, but the Paris-based partnership has operated independently for decades, building a distinct franchise anchored in European science and entrepreneurial spin-outs from academic institutions like Inserm, CNRS, and the Max Planck Society. Sofinnova Partners deploys capital exclusively across three dedicated strategies that map directly to its sector expertise. Sofinnova Capital targets early-stage biopharma and drug development companies, with confirmed positions including Nayan Therapeutics and several undisclosed platform companies spun out of European research hospitals. Sofinnova MD invests in medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health, with portfolio names that have historically included ReCor Medical and SafeHeal. The Industrial Biotech strategy, a more recent addition, backs startups applying synthetic biology to industrial challenges, including companies like Afyren, which converts biomass into organic acids. Geographic coverage centers on Europe, particularly France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the Nordic region, though the firm selectively co-invests in North American opportunities where its sector specialization provides an edge. As of 2024, the firm operates from three offices — Paris, London, and Milan — and manages an estimated $2.5 to $3.5 billion in assets (Altss estimate). The partnership has expanded its senior team to include heavyweights like Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the former chief scientific advisor for Operation Warp Speed and longtime GSK executive, whose presence signals the firm's ambition to bridge European science with global pharma partnerships. In September 2023, Sofinnova Partners closed its Sofinnova Capital XI fund at €1.2 billion, marking the largest ever life sciences-focused fund raised in Europe (per the firm's official communications). The firm maintains a philanthropic arm, the Sofinnova Foundation, which supports rare disease research and patient advocacy groups, structurally separate from investment activities. What distinguishes Sofinnova Partners is its pure-play life sciences mandate paired with a European origination engine that has endured for over fifty years. Unlike multi-sector venture platforms or U.S.-centric biotech investors, the firm runs three parallel dedicated strategies — each with its own investment committee and capital pool — enabling deep specialization without cross-contamination of risk. This architecture makes it a rare conduit for global pharmaceutical corporations seeking European deal flow and for institutional LPs who want exposure to life sciences venture but lack internal scientific due diligence capacity.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
1972
AUM
$2.5B - $3.5B (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
Europe
Country
France
City
Paris
Corporate office
Paris, France
Additional offices
London, United Kingdom · Milan, Italy
Principals
Antoine Papiernik
Chairman & Managing Partner
Moncef Slaoui
Partner
Henrijette Richter
Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Sofinnova Partners?
Chairman and Managing Partner Antoine Papiernik has led the firm since 1997 and sits on the investment committees across all strategies. Day-to-day investment decisions are managed by dedicated managing partners for each sector strategy — Henrijette Richter oversees the Sofinnova Capital biopharma fund, while dedicated partners run Sofinnova MD for medical devices and the Industrial Biotech strategy. Dr. Moncef Slaoui, a partner since 2021, provides scientific guidance and strategic pharma relationships but does not serve as a fund head.
Is Sofinnova Partners the same as the U.S.-based Sofinnova Investments?
No. The two firms share a common origin dating to the 1970s but have been completely independent entities for decades. Sofinnova Partners is based in Paris, focuses exclusively on European life sciences venture, and operates under a separate partnership structure. Sofinnova Investments is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, and pursues a distinct investment strategy with a U.S.-centric portfolio. They do not co-invest as a matter of course and have separate limited partner bases.
How does Sofinnova Partners source proprietary deal flow?
The firm's sourcing model relies on decades-deep relationships with European academic research institutions, university technology transfer offices, and hospital systems. Sofinnova Partners regularly builds companies around single-asset spinouts from laboratories at Inserm, CNRS, and the Max Planck Institute. The partnership also leverages its scientific advisory network, including Nobel laureates and senior pharma executives, to identify translational research that is not yet visible to generalist venture funds.
What is Sofinnova's posture on co-investments with external GPs?
Sofinnova Partners selectively co-invests with other specialist life sciences funds, particularly on larger Series B and C rounds where syndication de-risks single-asset biotech exposure. The firm also acts as a local partner for U.S. venture firms seeking European life sciences exposure, occasionally participating in transatlantic syndicates. However, it does not programmatically offer co-investment rights to its own LPs as a fund-of-funds or separate managed account structure.
Does Sofinnova Partners participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Sofinnova Partners invests almost exclusively through direct equity positions in portfolio companies via its three dedicated fund strategies. The firm has historically not operated a fund-of-funds program, nor does it make LP commitments to external venture funds as a material part of its strategy. Its limited partners are institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices that gain exposure to European life sciences venture exclusively through Sofinnova's direct investment vehicles.
Which sectors does Sofinnova Partners explicitly avoid?
Sofinnova Partners does not invest outside the life sciences and adjacent industrial biotechnology sectors. The firm avoids consumer technology, enterprise software, fintech, and generalist deep tech, even when such deals present strong venture returns elsewhere in Europe. Within life sciences, the firm has historically avoided healthcare services and payer-facing digital health models that lack intellectual property rooted in molecular biology or medical device engineering.
Does Sofinnova maintain philanthropic structures, and how are they separated?
Yes. The Sofinnova Foundation operates as a legally separate entity focused on rare disease research and patient advocacy. The foundation is funded by partner contributions and a portion of the firm's carried interest, rather than from management fees or LP capital. It does not make commercial investments or hold equity in Sofinnova Partners' portfolio companies, maintaining a clear structural firewall between philanthropic grants and the firm's venture capital activities.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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