AFYREN inaugurates its first factory, AFYREN NEOXY, a first-of-its-kind biorefinery

TISSIUM appoints Sara Toyloy as independent Board member


NodThera announces positive Phase 1 study readouts for the NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors NT-0796 and NT-0249



Inventiva and Sino Biopharm announce licensing and collaboration agreement to develop and commercialize lanifibranor in Greater China

Antoine Papiernik and Sylvain Gariel urge France to invest in vaccines 

May Health solidifies veteran executive team with appointment of women’s health care leader Anne Morrissey as CEO

Antoine Papiernik is Chairman and Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners, which he joined in 1997.

“Life Sciences investing is not just about recognizing good science,” Papiernik says, “it’s about people — learning how to interact with co-investors, limited partners, and entrepreneurs. Listening, discerning, negotiating, and finding common interests.”

When you find the right people to invest in, he adds, “you can bank on them more often than you can predict how the science is going to turn out.” He looks for entrepreneurs with the nimbleness to adapt, “even if that means a making a major shift from where one starts out on the journey.”

Antoine actively invests for our Capital Funds. He has been an initial investor and active board member in a number of public companies, including Actelion, ProQR, Shockwave Medical, NovusPharma (sold to CTI), Movetis (sold to Shire), and Pixium Vision. Trade sale success stories include CoreValve (sold to Medtronic), Fovea (sold to Sanofi Aventis), Ethical Oncology Science (EOS, sold to Clovis Oncology) and Recor Medical (sold to Otsuka).

He has also invested in and is a board member of private companies Reflexion Medical, Tissium, Pi-Cardia, SafeHeal, Noema Therapeutics, May Health, Highlife and Inspirna (formerly Rgenix).

Antoine has an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. He has been selected twice for the Forbes Midas List, an annual ranking recognizing the world’s top venture capital investors. Antoine is one of the few European and life science investors to have appeared on the prestigious list.

Henrijette Richter is one of our managing partners and an active member of the Capital Funds team, our flagship fund dedicated to early-stage biotechs and medtechs.

She joined Sofinnova in 2014, and her investments and board involvements include Mozart Therapeutics, Muna Therapeutics, Nitrase Therapeutics, Nodthera, Twentyeight-Seven Therapeutics, Asceneuron, Delinia (sold to Celgene), and iOmx Therapeutics.

Henrijette was attracted by Sofinnova Partners’ focus on a positive, consensus-oriented environment and its philosophy of investing in people. “Everyone needs to agree. An individual’s  success is everyone's success,” she says. “And when there's a failure, it's everyone's failure — that fosters different conversations when you consider potential investments.”

Prior to Sofinnova, Henrijette was part of the team that founded Novo Seeds in 2007, and as an Investment Director, she was instrumental in the creation, financing and building of companies such as Orphazyme (ORPHA.CO; ORPH), Avilex Pharma, EpiTherapeutics (sold to Gilead), and Lysogene (LYS, Euronext Paris).

Henrijette holds a combined Ph.D. and Industrial Scientist degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Copenhagen and Novo Nordisk A/S. She did her postdoctoral fellowship at the MIT Center for Cancer Research in Massachusetts.

Monique Saulnier is a managing partner and the COO of Sofinnova Partners. She joined us in 1983, initially to follow U.S. funds. She became chief financial officer in 1997.

With 39 years of experience in the management of support teams for private equity, Monique has been active in building VC standards. She led the task force that produced the “AFIC Guide: Valuations and Reporting” in 2002, was actively involved in producing new accounting standards for FCPRs within the French accounting regulatory body in 2004, and was instrumental in the production of the IPEV (International Private Equity Valuation board) Valuation Guidelines and Reporting Guidelines.

“We are global,” Monique says when asked which of Sofinnova Partners’ strengths she values most. “We have experience, a strong network, a good reputation for adding value to our portfolio companies — and the relationships between the CEOs of the portfolio companies and our partners are excellent.”

Monique was a founding member of the IPEV Association and a member of the Professional Standards Committee of Invest Europe (EVCA). She has also chaired a number of seminars and training institutes on valuation and reporting for Invest Europe.

Monique holds a master’s degree in management and a DECS accounting degree.

Graziano Seghezzi, managing partner, joined us in 2006 and is an active member of the investment team for the Sofinnova Capital Funds.

Graziano serves on the Board of Directors of several companies he helped create and finance, including GlycoEra, Enthera, HotSpot Therapeutics, Erydel, Inotrem, Mission Therapeutics, and Crescendo Biologics. He is responsible for a number of substantial exits, including Corvidia Therapeutics, which was sold to Novo Nordisk for €2.1 billion in 2020; Hookipa Pharma, floated on the Nasdaq in 2019; GlycoVaxyn, sold to GlaxoSmithKline in 2015, and Omthera Pharmaceuticals, which went public on the Nasdaq in 2013 and was then sold to AstraZeneca the same year.

He has also been the main driver behind Sofinnova Partners’ growing presence in his native Italy, establishing the country’s first biotech accelerator, BiovelocITA, in 2015, and the Sofinnova Telethon Fund in 2018. “For the first time in Italy you had a place where the key ingredients of biotech were working together: dedicated capital, dedicated management, dedicated strategy, and top-tier scientists,” Graziano says of the creation of BiovelocITA.

He started his career in venture capital in 2001 at Sofinnova Partners and was at Index Ventures from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, Graziano spent five years working in academic research at New York University’s School of Medicine, studying oncology and cardiovascular diseases. Graziano holds a degree in genetics and microbiology from the University of Pavia, Italy, and an MBA from RSM-Erasmus University, The Netherlands.

Joe Anderson is a partner in the Sofinnova Crossover Strategy. He joined us in 2020 from Arix Bioscience plc, an LSE-listed venture capital firm where he was co-founder and CEO for 5 years.

Joe has extensive experience in the healthcare and life science industries, including 12 years as partner at Abingworth LLP, where he led venture-style investments in public companies and the formation of the firm’s public equities fund.

As an investor and active board member he has helped companies with financings, IPOs, and M&As, including Algeta (sold to Bayer for $2.9bn), Amarin (listed on the Nasdaq), Autolus (listed on the Nasdaq) and Cytos (merged with Kuros).

Joe is upbeat about the rate of progress in life sciences. "Rapid advances in science over the past decade enabled the development of a vaccine for Covid a year after the first cases emerged. There’s no way you could have done that 10 years ago,” he said. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg. We are also seeing huge acceleration in our understanding of disease processes in cancer, cardiovascular and neurology. This pace of discovery promises to bring unprecedented benefits to human health in coming years. It is exciting to help companies find that next gear of growth as they bring new medicines to market.”

His early career was at the Wellcome Trust where he became head of the strategy group for 9 years.He then moved into equities research as a pharmaceuticals analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, and then fund management with the global healthcare & biotechnology fund at First State Investments, before moving into venture capital in 2004.

Guillaume is a principal at Sofinnova Partners. He joined us in 2017 to support our investments in the industrial biotechnology and renewable chemistry sectors.

He started his career in the chemical industry, spending several years in Brussels at Solvay, to develop disruptive technologies for sustainable energies and advanced materials through partnerships between start-ups, research institutes and in-house R&D teams. Then, he joined Solvay Ventures as Investment Manager to work even more closely with entrepreneurs.

Guillaume believes the Sofinnova Partners Industrial Biotech team’s scientific expertise is a big factor in its success. "When someone has some synthetic biology technology, and they want to create a company, not many VC investors are able to go deep with them,” he said, adding that people who know the sector would say: “if you want to find a deeptech investor, able to make some strong impact and help you make progress in industrial biotech — Sofinnova is it."

Guillaume holds Master’s Degrees in Genetics-Immunology (Université Paris Descartes) and in Industrial Biotechnology (Université de Technologie de Compiègne/AgroParisTech). He also holds degrees in Innovation Management (UTC/NEOMA business school) completed by an executive education at Louvain School of Management (Belgium).

Anna, a junior analyst with the Industrial Biotech strategy, joined us in 2020.

Previously she worked as an analyst in the innovation department of the EFKO Group, one of the top three Russian food industry groups, where she covered the FoodTech and AgriTech sectors. Prior to that, she was an analyst in the Seeds Department at Bayer Crop Science CIS.

Initially graduating as an invertebrate zoologist, Anna has always valued diversity and sustainability. Her tenacity and curiosity were encouraged by a saying from her professors: “The worm is so long, and life is so short,” which Anna finds applicable to any project.

She holds a B.Sc. in Biology from Moscow State University, and an M.Sc. in Biomedical Science from Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology.

Maina joined us as a partner in 2018, bringing an extensive network and a long track record as a successful healthcare investor.

Prior to joining Sofinnova Partners, she was director of healthcare investment at Touchstone Innovations (formerly Imperial Innovations) in London, where she led and co-led investments in the U.K.

Maina’s interest in biotechnology goes back to childhood. “I've wanted to be in biotech since I was 16 years old,” she said. “It was the early days, when Amgen and Genentech were first in the news, and it just sounded cool to me.”

Before turning to investing, Maina worked in the R&D teams of several U.K. and U.S. biotech companies, including Celltech, Oxford GlycoSciences, Chimeric Therapies and GeneMedicine.

Maina holds a B.S. from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the Imperial Business School. Her current investments include Sitryx Therapeutics, Cincor and Enyo Pharma.

Joško Bobanović joined us in 2010 as a partner focused on the industrial biotech strategy. He works on early stage deals in Europe and North America with applications in chemicals, agriculture, food, and materials. Prior to joining Sofinnova Partners, he was part of the investment team at iNovia Capital in Montreal, Canada.

Joško sits on the boards of Metgen, Comet Bio, DNA Script, Biosyntia, DMC Biotechnologies, Pyrowave and Protera Biosciences. Before going into venture capital, he created an internet startup and a software company.

, which helps entrepreneurs in software, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Joško goes straight to the point when discussing what he looks for in founders: “Personal integrity, drive and ambition, no nonsense.” His recurring nugget of wisdom? “Sales solve everything — if nobody is willing to buy, it’s a hobby.”

Driven by curiosity, Joško appreciates Sofinnova Partners’ global ambition and enjoys the mix of technology, innovation and finance that defines his job. For fun, he enjoys cooking great food, travel and basketball.


Tom joined the Sofinnova Crossover Fund team in June 2017 from Peel Hunt, where he was senior research analyst for healthcare & life sciences.

He has 11 years of diverse investing expertise, with over $1.5 billion in total completed transactions.

Tom, with an EngD in biochemical engineering and experience working on the manufacture of vaccines at GlaxoSmithKline, brings an engineer’s mindset to the world of venture capital.

He put science in the foreground when he explained the financing gap that led to the Sofinnova Crossover investment strategy. "The science in Europe is the same quality as any you'll find in the U.S.," he said. "But there is a shortage of capital in the late-stage venture arena, which is eventually reflected in prices. So, the European companies have the same excellence in scientific innovations, at a more attractive price" than those in the U.S.

Tom worked for several years with Jacques Theurillat at Ares Life Sciences. Prior to that, he was at Novo Growth Equity, a Danish fund focused on late-stage investments in both public and private life science companies and a member of Piper Jaffray’s European healthcare investment banking team.

He holds Doctorate and Master’s degrees in biochemical engineering (University College London and University of Birmingham) and an undergraduate degree in Biotechnology. Tom is a chartered member of Association of Engineering Doctorates.

Claire joined us in February 2021 as an analyst with the Crossover team. Prior to joining Sofinnova Partners, Claire was an analyst on the Life Sciences team at Andera Partners, where she identified and invested in biotech and medtech companies.

Claire has a Ph.D. in Hemato-Oncology from Paris Diderot University, which she carried out at the Institut Curie, working on elucidating signaling pathways involved in the activity of leukemic-initiating cells in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL).

She also holds an M.Sc. from the French engineering school Agrocampus Ouest and a degree in Biopharmaceutical Management from ESCP Business School. Her research has been published in journals such as Nature Communications and Cancer Cell.

Anouck joined us in 2021. She looks for industrial biotechnology investments in Europe and North America, covering the chemical, materials, agriculture and food sectors. Her particular focus is on sustainability.

Prior to joining Sofinnova, Anouck co-founded XL Batteries, a New York startup developing redox flow batteries for grid scale energy storage. She served as CTO.

Anouck got into venture capital because she enjoys “digging into the science behind the innovations and interacting with entrepreneurs who have drive and creative ideas,” she said. “I am passionate about science and catalyzing the transformation of scientific innovations and technologies into impactful products.” She is a member of the Global Women in VC Community.

Anouck holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Columbia University, where she specialized in inorganic molecular clusters and solid-state materials with tunable electronic properties. Her Ph.D. work was 

 on the cover of Scientific American’s 2016 World Changing Ideas issue. At Columbia, she received the Louis Hammett Award for Excellence in Chemical Research, awarded to the top Ph.D. student in their final year.

Anouck was a post-baccalaureate research fellow at the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where she studied the synthesis and self assembly of sequence-defined, bio-inspired polymers. She got her Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from UC Berkeley.

Cécile joined our MD Start team in 2019. She is currently CEO of HEPTA Medical, and brings her operational and strategic expertise to Endoron to accelerate the development of the company's highly disruptive technology. Prior to that, she was COO of Gradient Denervation Technologies, and director of clinical, regulatory and market access at SafeHeal, the first company created by MD Start II, where she managed the execution of the first-in-human study and regulatory approvals in the EU and US.

Unofficially, she is MD Start’s regulatory expert.

“We need to make sure we start with the right strategy from the get-go because the regulatory strategy is one of the key drivers of the entire project,” she says. “It will drive the clinical strategy, but also the R&D strategy. This is really a key entry point for the project.”

Prior to joining MD Start, Cécile held various clinical, marketing and regulatory positions in both mature and start-up medical device organizations in the fields of endoscopy, pulmonology, dermatology, surgery and diabetes care; for single and multi-use disposable products and capital equipment.

Cécile holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from UTC (Université de Technologies de Compiègne) in France, Dalarna University (Sweden) and Favoloro University (Buenos Aires) in Argentina. She also has a degree in corporate finance from HEC in Paris. 

Marie joined us in 2017 and is an analyst with the Capital team focusing on the biopharmaceutical sector.

Marie holds a Ph.D. in cellular biology from Paris Diderot University, carried out at the Jacques Monod Institute, where she studied the spindle assembly checkpoint during cell division. 

To round out her scientific background, she obtained a master’s in Entrepreneurship from HEC Business School, Polytechnique and Paris Descartes University, where she worked beside researchers from the Institut Imagine to translate their innovative technologies into companies.

Marie chose a career in venture capital “because I enjoy interacting with entrepreneurs, seeing their passion and the way they are able to convey their ideas and generate excitement within the investment team.” One of the things she likes most about Sofinnova Partners is its diversity: “We all see an investment from different perspectives and that is our strength as a team.”

Lucia joined us in 2018 as a partner in the Sofinnova Telethon Fund, bringing her extensive experience in technology transfer and business development in the life sciences sector.

Prior to joining Sofinnova Partners, Lucia was the director of research & development at Fondazione Telethon, an Italian charity whose mission is to develop therapies for patients affected by rare and genetic diseases. Fondazione Telethon is Sofinnova’s partner in the Telethon Fund, Italy’s largest biotechnology fund.

“Recent history is telling us that we need to dare more,” Faccio says, adding that it takes venture capitalists with scientific backgrounds to really “get” the technology, science and innovation happening in the rare diseases space.

“There has to be more willingness to invest in the early stage,” she said. “Consider that if nobody had invested in mRNA vaccine technology 10 years ago, I don't think we would have had the Covid vaccine in less than one year.”

Lucia has over 20 years of experience in business development in life sciences, with an exceptional track record for identifying projects with strong translational potential, and developing them through solid intellectual property positions, technology transfer, regulatory affairs, and license agreements with industry partners.

Before she joined Fondazione Telethon, Lucia was the director of technology transfer of San Raffaele Hospital, the largest private hospital in Italy and a leading national research center.

Lucia has a degree in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Padua in Italy and a Ph.D. in biotechnology from the University of l’Aquila, Italy, in association with the Harvard Medical School and conducted at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Marion joined our MD Start team in 2019. She is the CEO of Ablacare, after having managed the execution of the first-in-human study and regulatory approvals in the E.U. and the U.S. for the company.

She enjoys MD Start’s fast-paced, close-to-the-ground approach. “My day-to-day is operational and hands-on, focused on building products and creating value for patients and clinicians with breakthrough innovations,” she says.

Marion also plays a big part in managing the MD Start deal flow, the identification and evaluation of the most promising ideas for incubation. She says that to get a full picture of an idea's potential, the MD Start team taps into collective intelligence, talking to people in different parts of the world who are entrepreneurs, purchasing managers, key opinion leaders and knowledgeable clinicians.

Prior to joining MD Start, Marion was the head of operations of Cardiologs Technologies, a French medtech start-up that uses artificial intelligence and cloud technology to provide advanced screening for atrial fibrillation and other heart rhythm disorders. Philips agreed in November 2021 to buy Cardiologs.

Marion holds a Bachelor in Biomedical Science from Imperial College London, and a Master’s in Management (major in Entrepreneurship) from HEC Paris.


Anta joined us in 2017 and is a principal with the Capital Strategy. She was previously an immunology scientist at Danone Nutricia, where she was involved in translational research and development of prebiotic and probiotic products for immune resilience.

Anta completed her Ph.D. at the National Heart and Lung Institute of Imperial College in London in collaboration with Pfizer UK, where she studied the biology of oxidative stress-driven steroid insensitivity in COPD. She continued her post-doctoral studies at the National Institute of Health of France, INSERM, where she investigated the molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate cardiomyocyte function post myocardial infarction at the European Hospital George Pompidou in Paris.

Lukas joined us in 2019 and is a partner on the MD Start team. He is a medical doctor and was trained in General Surgery at the Universities of Heidelberg and Freiburg.

As a former surgeon, the hands-on approach at MD Start appealed to him. "We're not up there in the balcony giving the thumbs up or thumbs down" as entrepreneurs make their pitches, he says. “We build the story; we bring in the necessary assets; we create the company, often from scratch."

Lukas was a postdoctoral scientist at the Novartis Center for Immunobiology at Harvard University, where he conducted preclinical research on protective genes. Subsequently, Lukas completed a Fellowship at the University of Minnesota as Organ Harvest Fellow, where he participated in NIH-sponsored clinical trials on islet transplantation.

In 2007, he joined the life science investment team at Wellington Partners, a pan-European venture capital firm where he advanced to investment director and invested in several European early stage life science companies.

Lukas holds a summa cum laude doctorate from Humboldt University (Charité) Berlin. He also obtained a Global One MBA degree from RSM Erasmus.


Kuang joined us in December 2019 as an Analyst for the Crossover Strategy. She started her career at Procter & Gamble (Beauty & Grooming) as a summer intern, where she witnessed how science-driven innovations benefited millions of people for the first time.

Driven by her deep curiosity and a desire to make a positive impact on the world, she continued to broaden her knowledge base and skillset. At ExxonMobil, Kuang conducted an industrial postdoc on novel preventative approaches against microbe-mediated pipeline corrosion, for which she received a Research Breakthrough Award.

Later, at the University of Michigan, she developed early cancer diagnostic tools using wearable device-based, non-invasive biomarkers and was a recipient of the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award.

Kuang is a Reviewer at 81cents, an organization that helps close gender pay gaps.

She received a B.S. from Peking University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Indiana University - Bloomington.

Kinam joined us in January 2017 as a partner driving Sofinnova's later-stage, crossover investment strategy. Prior to joining Sofinnova Partners, Kinam was a co-manager of the Exane Equinox fund, a global healthcare fund backing later-stage, public biotechnology companies. Before that, he spent 10 years as an investor and analyst covering the biotechnology sector, including at Citigroup Investment Research, where he specialized in small- and mid-cap biotechnology companies.

Kinam was attracted by Sofinnova Crossover's hands-on approach to later-stage investing. "It's different when you are an active investor with a larger ownership," he says. "You have the ability to make a bigger impact. Sometimes you need to be in the room.”

Prior to his investment career, Kinam worked in new product development at Sanofi, the multinational pharmaceutical company, where he held various roles in product development, business development and strategic marketing, working on infectious diseases and oncology licensing deals, and on the company’s China strategy.

Kinam is a physician and scientist, holding degrees in molecular biology/biochemistry and medicine from the University of Florida. He also holds a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and MBA from INSEAD (France).

Kinam enjoys combining the medicine and investing aspects of his role, which "has the potential to make an impact on patients and makes every day interesting."

Ankeet joined us in January 2020. He is a healthcare and life science professional with a career spanning academic research, clinical practice, and strategy consulting.

Ankeet started his consulting career at the Boston Consulting Group. As a strategy consultant he has worked with senior executives in the biopharma industry on a range of R&D, corporate and commercial topics.

Prior to this, Ankeet was an academic doctor and surgeon with research interests in next-generation surgical technologies.

Ankeet excels at connecting the dots between different disciplines, and enjoys working in healthcare venture capital because it lets him “combine my love of science, medicine, and business and be at the bleeding edge.”

Ankeet did his medical training at the University of Oxford and obtained a first-class degree in Medical Sciences, for which he specialized in neuroscience and conducted original research into brain development. While practicing medicine in Scotland, Ankeet taught medical students and was appointed Honorary Clinical Tutor at the University of Edinburgh.

Edward joined us as a partner in June, 2021. He came to Sofinnova Partners from M Ventures, Merck KGaA’s corporate VC arm, where he focused on investments in cutting-edge digital medicine companies, including Akili Interactive Labs, maker of the first FDA-approved prescription videogame.

Before that, Edward was in the Life Sciences securities team at Kempen & Co, a pan-European merchant bank, covering listed small- and mid-cap life sciences equities. He started his career as an analyst within the biopharma investment team of M Ventures.

Edward is positive, energetic and purpose-driven — and he enjoys a challenge. In 2012, for instance, he took on the Gobi desert in an underpowered 1.2L Chevrolet Aveo, which he and his team drove from London to Mongolia to raise money for SOS Children's Villages.

He holds an M.Sc. in Biopharmaceutical Sciences from Leiden University, the Netherlands, with a specialization in pharmacology.

Michael joined us in 2013 and is a partner in the Sofinnova Industrial Biotech Strategy.

His primary focus is on identifying early-stage deals in Europe and North America with applications ranging from chemicals, materials, agriculture, food, feed, and synthetic biology.

The IB Fund’s contribution to sustainability is important to him.

“I have three young kids, and I don’t want to end up 25 years from now with a difficult question about, you know, why didn’t I do anything to solve climate change,” he said. He added that investing in companies that are all part of a movement toward sustainability and lower carbon emissions “is the way for me to address that very personal issue.”

In addition to being a board member of Afyren, Michael is or has been on the board of directors of Elicit Plant, Meiogenix, EnginZyme, Comet Bio, and EnobraQ. He also served for 2 years as the CEO of EnobraQ, a Sofinnova Partners’ Green Seed Fund portfolio company.

He looks for founders with the ability to roll with the punches. “Founders need to have force, to be able to move mountains and stay resilient when things are not easy,” he says. “Creativity and charisma are important, of course, but resilience is a very key feature.”

Michael came to biotech and venture capital via science and consulting. He finds it satisfying to retain the “positiveness of going into deep science,” yet “still being able to see a lot of different things and have an impact on a business,” helping its executives “craft their strategy and their path forward.”

Before joining Sofinnova, Michael spent six years in industrial biotech start-ups, in senior business development roles.  He also worked in a consulting firm advising companies on strategic R&D and organizational issues.

Michael is an engineer who graduated from Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Paris X Orsay University.

Denis has been a key member of the team since he joined Sofinnova Partners in 1991. He's currently a partner and senior advisor, and was Chairman until 2017 and Managing Partner until 2021.  As a life sciences investor, he specializes in industrial biotechnology.

Denis’ recent industrial biotechnology investments include BioAmber, Avantium and Biotalys (which went public respectively on NYSE, Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels) as well as Green Biologics, Microphyt and Micropep. He acts or has acted as a board member for all these companies.

His advice for managers? “You need to hire people who are better than you are.”

Denis began his career in academic research. For five years, he was in charge of the technology transfer department at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), France’s agricultural research institute. In 1997, he founded the French biotech entrepreneurs' association, France Biotech.

During his first 17 years at Sofinnova Partners, Denis carried out many investments in health care such as Nicox, Oxford Glycosciences, Oxford Molecular, PPL Therapeutics, Conjuchem, Exonhit, IDM, Innate Pharma, Ablynx, Cerenis, and Noxxon (all of which successfully went public) as well as Novexel (sold to AstraZeneca), and Crop Design (sold to BASF Crop Sciences).  He joined the venture capital industry as director of investments at Innolion (Crédit Lyonnais) in 1989.

Denis is a graduate in engineering from Ecole Polytechnique and the École du Génie Rural des Eaux et Forêts. He has a degree in Innovation Management from the Université de Paris-Dauphine.

Cedric joined us in June 2018, bringing his 18 years of experience in life sciences investment banking. He is a partner on the Crossover team.

Cedric joined from Oddo BHF where he was managing director and head of healthcare in the corporate finance department. In 2017, Oddo BHF was the top ranked firm for European biotech equity capital market deals.

Prior to this, he was director at Bryan Garnier & Co where he completed several sizable cross-border transactions, including Galapagos, DBV, Ablynx, and Celyad. In total, he has managed more than 2 billion euros in European healthcare transactions.

Cedric brings to the Crossover team his transactional expertise in the biopharma industry, as well as an extensive network of key opinion leaders, bankers and lawyers.

Cedric was well known to the Sofinnova team before he came onboard, having executed several mandates for portfolio companies.

He said the Sofinnova Crossover team was taking a different approach compared with crossover transactions in the U.S., which typically involve investing just ahead of a company’s IPO.

"We are more like late-stage VC investors," he said. "It's really the stage of maturity of the company that is important for us. Rather than thinking about Series B or what round it is, we buy into companies depending on their clinical stage development and proof of concept," then help them get ready for what comes next — usually a listing on the Nasdaq, and/or a deal with a major pharma or healthcare company.

Before his corporate finance career, Cedric spent 10 years as a healthcare equity analyst, and was several times EXTEL top ranked (awarded for both individual and team performances) at Natixis and Fortis. He was in charge of coverage of listed biotech and pharma companies.

Cedric holds a Master’s in Economics and post-graduate diploma in Finance and Taxation (Sorbonne) and diploma from the Société Française des Analystes Financiers (SFAF).


Anne has been running our in-house MedTech accelerator, MD Start, since she came on board as a partner in 2015.

She embodies the MD Start team’s hands-on approach: Anne is the founding and current CEO of both Gradient Denervation Technologies and Moon Surgical. She is a Board member of both SafeHeal and May Health — two companies where she was also founding CEO.

“What I like about this job is that it is about building products and companies,” Osdoit says. “It is very diverse. It is in different therapeutic areas, in different spaces with different technologies.”

Prior to joining Sofinnova, Anne held several key positions at Mauna Kea Technologies, a Paris-based medical technology company with global presence, developing a disruptive “optical biopsy” technology. She was closely involved in multiple financing rounds, including the company’s initial public offering on the Paris Euronext, a highly successful operation and the largest public listing for the sector that year.

Anne is an active angel investor and an independent board member of FeetMe and Cardiologs Technologies, two Paris-based e-health startups. Cardiologs was purchased by Philips in 2021.

Anne is a trained biomedical engineer from Ecole Polytechnique of Paris, France and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She holds additional degrees in Biostatistics and epidemiology applied to clinical trials (Université Pierre et Marie Curie), as well as Corporate Finance (London School of Economics).

Paola joined us in 2018 as partner with the Sofinnova Telethon Fund, Italy’s first biotechnology fund focused on rare and genetic diseases. Prior to that, she was head of the Office of Biotechnology Transfer of Ospedale San Raffaele, an internationally renowned research hospital based in Milan, where she spent 14 years actively promoting and contributing to scouting, protecting and licensing intellectual property, including through the incorporation of start-ups.

Pozzi got a master's degree in intellectual property law before heading up the patent portfolio at St. Raffaele. She uses that knowledge, along with some new skills, to fund ideas that could change lives.

“As partners at Sofinnova Telethon Fund, we need to negotiate the agreements that drive the incorporation process and the set-up of the company,” she said. “My experience helps me understand what I want to get from the institutions and, from a future perspective, what I want to see developed in the company.”

Prior to her time at San Raffaele, Paola spent more than 2 years working at The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, studying neurobiology using RNA interference.

She holds a degree in pharmaceutical biotechnology from the University of Milan and a master’s in Intellectual Property Law from the Just Legal Services, a legal training school in Milan.

Tiziana joined us in 2019 as an associate in the Telethon Strategy.

Prior to joining Sofinnova Partners, she worked as senior analyst at Innogest Capital and as intern analyst at Merck Ventures.

Tiziana is a trained scientist, has a PhD in neuroscience from Royal Holloway University of London and worked as a postdoc at Imperial College London and the University of Pittsburgh.

She is a former Fulbright fellow (Business and Entrepreneurship, Santa Clara University), holds a M.Sc. in Neuroscience and a B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Rome.

Tiziana is author of several scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals such as Nature, Science and Cell Transplantation Journals.

Jacques joined us in 2017 and brings the Crossover team his extensive experience in biopharmaceutical company operations, as well as his know-how when it comes to making private and public investments.

His experience in building a team of international investors to deploy a new strategy is also important for the Crossover team. He is expected to take positions on the board of some of the public companies in which the Fund will invest.

Jacques co-founded in 2008 and managed Ares Life Sciences, a privately owned investment fund with the objective to build and manage a portfolio of companies in life sciences. Jacques built a new team of 9 professionals and invested €1.25 billion in six public and private companies including Euromedic International BV, Esaote Spa, Bronchus Technologies Inc, Santhera Pharmaceuticals, Stallergenes SA, Greer Inc. In June 2015, Stallergenes and Greer merged creating the worldwide market leader in Allergy Immunotherapy.

Jacques had previously spent almost 20 years in the Serono pharmaceutical group, where he was deputy CEO and senior executive vice president for strategic corporate development, responsible for Serono’s global strategy and in-licensing initiatives. Jacques also served as Serono’s president of European and international sales & marketing and CFO. In his various roles at Serono, Jacques was responsible for several major equity financings of the company, including the $2 billion listing on the NYSE in 2000, one of the largest-ever biotech secondary offerings worldwide. Jacques was also involved in the process that led to the sale of the company to Merck KGA for 14 billion Swiss Francs.

Jacques is a Swiss barrister and holds Bachelor of Law degrees from both Madrid University and Geneva University. He also holds a Swiss Federal Diploma (Tax Expert) and has a Master’s degree in Finance.

Simon joined us in 2021 after consulting for Corporates seeking to develop partnership with Digital Health companies. He worked closely with business development functions to identify, assess, and structure strategic investments. Prior to that, Simon was at Baxter International, where he was part of the External Innovation Department. At Baxter, Simon coordinated scouting activities and technical due diligence that assessed M&A opportunities.

He is a Board member at Gradientech AB, a privately held Swedish company developing ultra-rapid treatment decision tools for antibiotic susceptibility testing. He is also a Steering Committee member of the MedFIT conference, an international event that brings together key innovators in the MedTech, diagnostic and digital health sectors.

Simon enjoys constant exposure to novel technologies, curious and motivated people, and supporting the development of companies that are striving to improve medicine. He decided to join Sofinnova because of the strong team spirit and collective drive.

He has a B.Sc. in Biomedical Science from King’s College London and an M.Sc. in International Business from SKEMA Business School.

Zhizhong (Joel) Yao joined us in 2015 as an analyst focusing on investments in the biopharmaceutical sector.

Prior to joining Sofinnova, Zhizhong carried out post-doctoral research at the French National Institute of Agricultural Research, visualizing the localization and dynamics of cytoskeletal proteins as potential new antibiotic targets.

He holds a Ph.D. in chemical biology and systems biology from Harvard University, where he developed quantitative single-cell methods to determine the mechanism of action of antibiotics as well as drug-drug/gene-drug/gene-gene interactions.

He also holds a B.S. in chemistry and molecular engineering from Peking University. Zhizhong was a teaching fellow and life-science residential advisor at Harvard College. His original research and review articles have appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as PNAS, Molecular Cell, PLoS Genetics and Annual Review of Microbiology.

Malty Ba is a reporting officer at Sofinnova Partners. She joined us in 2021.

Thomas Bermudes, our senior legal counsel, joined us in January 2019.

Prior to Sofinnova, he was at the Dechert international law firm, where he worked on venture capital transactions, as well as on general corporate law, private equity, and mergers and acquisitions.

Thomas holds a Master’s degree in business and tax law (DJCE) from the University of Bordeaux, and a Masters of Laws LL.M. from the University of Melbourne.


Christophe joined Sofinnova Partners in 2016 and handles all administrative and financial issues related to the funds and the management company.

He has 16 years of experience in the private investment industry, handling administration and financing of management companies.

Before joining Sofinnova, Christophe was chief financial officer and conducting officer at PO Participations S.A., where he was involved in the debt activity and in the oversight of delegated activities.

Prior to PO Participations, Christophe worked as chief financial officer in French and Luxembourg management companies. He also worked as a senior audit manager in PricewaterhouseCoopers with a focus on private equity and professionals in the financial sector.

Christophe is Réviseur d’Entreprises in Luxembourg and graduated from the Institut Supérieur du Commerce, a French business school.

Armance Bordes, who joined Sofinnova Partners in March 2018, is our general counsel.

She has 15 years’ experience handling legal and regulatory issues in private equity and venture capital. Prior to joining Sofinnova, Armance was deputy general counsel and secretary of the board of directors at Eurazeo.

Her role with us encompasses fundraising with LPs (Limited Partners) and investment/divestment activity with portfolio companies. She is responsible for all legal and compliance matters across a wide range of Sofinnova Partners’ strategic transactions.

“No two deals are the same because we invest in many jurisdictions: France, Europe, the rest of the world – mainly the US for the moment,” 

 in an interview with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. “I negotiate the terms of the investment and arrange the financing documentation with the portfolio companies in which we invest.”

Armance started her career as an M&A lawyer at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Paris. She graduated from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and holds a postgraduate diploma from Oxford University. She is a member of the Paris bar and represents venture capital at  Invest Europe's Public Affairs Executive.

Rob joined us in January 2020 from PwC’s Global Fundraising Advisory Platform, which he helped establish and co-led. He is a partner who leads investor relations and our responsible investment strategy.

Rob has more than a decade of experience working with institutional investors and raising capital for alternative assets.

Prior to PwC, he was at Mercury Capital Advisors, a global private fundraising and investment advisory firm that has its origins in Merrill Lynch. At Mercury, he supported the needs of institutional investors and successfully raised capital across the alternative assets spectrum.

Prior to his career in private placement, Rob worked as a Principal Scientist and project lead at Pfizer, working on products from discovery through pre-clinical and into clinical development. He has also worked at GSK and Eli Lilly.

Rob holds a Ph.D. in chemistry (Prof. Willie Motherwell, University College London) and completed postdoctoral research at Brock University, Canada in the labs of Prof. Tomáš Hudlický, with a focus on the semi-synthesis of morphine and its analogues. This work was carried out in collaboration with Noramco (then a part of Johnson & Johnson) and is the subject of a number of patents.

Gabriel is a communications designer at Sofinnova Partners. He joined us in 2021.

Bertrand joined us in 2018. Before becoming a general accountant with Sofinnova Partners, he was a tax expert and advisor with the real estate start-up ELM Conseil. Prior to that, he spent seven years as an accountant at the Shangri-La Paris hotel, responsible for ongoing expenses and revenues.

Bertrand has an eye for details and a deliberate devotion to accuracy. When going about his daily routine, he says he often recalls advice from one of his favorite teachers: “Always keep in mind that you must be rational, and logical, when you make a decision.”

He practices yoga to strengthen both mind and body. “Doing better asanas in my weekly practice reinforces my perseverance and my tenacity,” he says. Music “is a source of inspiration and a means of artistic freedom” for Bertrand.

One of Bertrand’s favorite quotes comes from the writer and philosopher Suzy Kassem: “You are not just for the right or left, but for what is right over the wrong.”

Johanna works in funds accounting. She joined us in 2019.

Stéphanie joined us in 1997. As head of information systems, she develops and administers our internal databases and manages relations with external IT providers. Stéphanie holds a master’s degree in banking & finance from Rennes University, France.

Sarah joined us in 2006. She is in charge of the legal monitoring of portfolio companies. She also contributes to investment operations, funds reporting and to the monitoring of corporate legal affairs. Sarah holds a master’s degree in business law from Paris Dauphine University.

Marc joined us in September 2019 in an IT support role.

Sandrine joined Sofinnova Partners in 2007.

Aziliz joined us in January 2021 as Investor Relations and Reporting Officer.

Prior to that, she worked as a Senior Associate at Triago, where she was involved in the execution of primary fundraising and strategic advisory mandates across Europe.

Aziliz holds a M.Sc. in Corporate Finance & Banking from EDHEC Business School, Nice.

Bommy is our head of communications. She is responsible for the global communications strategy of the firm.

Over the past decade, Bommy has built international brands and spearheaded communications strategies for life sciences companies.

She is a former journalist with extensive experience developing impactful messages for global audiences. Bommy has an executive MBA from HEC Paris and a Master’s degree from Sciences-Po in Paris. She graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.

Delphine is an executive assistant at Sofinnova Partners. She joined us in 2021.

Nathalie joined us in 1990. She is in charge of the reporting to investors and in particular their administrative, financial and tax requests. Nathalie holds a master's degree in business law and holds a degree in finance management from ESCP Paris.

Sofinnova'speople

Individual strengths, united purpose

We embrace individual uniqueness and diversity, while our greatest strength is in our unity and common purpose.