Amid the buzz at JP Morgan conference, Sofinnova Partners' Antoine Papiernik is optimistic

There was a lot to discuss during the 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco this week. The conference connects global industry leaders, fast-growth startups, innovative technology creators and members of the investment community. With a team of partners attending, Sofinnova Partners got involved in the wider conversation that always surrounds the event.

In an interview that led a wide-ranging look at healthcare by the French publication Private Equity Magazine, Antoine Papiernik, Chairman and Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners, shared his insights into some of the themes prevalent at the JP Morgan event.

Papiernik described the healthcare sector as a "multi-faceted haven of resilience," amid megatrends like aging populations and rapid scientific advancements.

He cited neurodegenerative diseases as an example of an area where recent progress has attracted VC investment. "‘VCs had long avoided neurodegenerative diseases, even though a significant proportion of the world's population is likely to suffer from them," he told Private Equity. "Now they're starting to come in because research is progressing nonstop and has probably never been so intense."

Large pharmaceutical companies are competing for the best assets in an increasing number of niches, he noted, adding that the big companies were willing to consider a wide variety of collaborations (purchase, licensing, partnership) with biotech companies at various stages of maturity. He cited Eli Lilly's offer to partner with Mablink Biosciences, a Sofinnova investment, when it was still in the pre-clinical phase.

Citeline's Scrip Asks included Papiernik in an article that polled more than 30 biopharma executives, investors and industry experts, getting their takes on the new year for biopharma.

He was boldly optimistic: "In 2025, biopharma’s resilience and achievements are poised to fuel a NASDAQ rebound. M&As are also expected to continue to strengthen pharma’s pipelines. Meanwhile, Generative AI promises to reshape drug development and healthcare efficiency, unlocking new opportunities for the industry,” Papiernik said.

Meanwhile, on the latest episode of The State of Medtech podcast, Mano Iyer, a partner with Sofinnova Partners' MD Start strategy, spoke with the show's host, Omar M. Khateeb, about his full-circle medtech journey, which began when he was an entrepreneur and part of the group of company builders who founded the original MD Start.

Iyer recounts how he founded Recor Medical, which pioneered renal denervation technology designed to lower blood pressure and was bought by the Japanese company Otsuka Holdings. The conversation touches on important human aspects of entrepreneurship like mentorship and learning from mistakes and yields solid advice for would-be founders.