Sofinnova Exceeds Biotech Fund Goal and Launches Three New Companies

It’s been a very active period for European venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners. The firm announced the final close of its latest investment fund as well as the launch of three new companies. The Biovelocita II accelerator fund raised €165 million ($181 million)—exceeding its target. Notably, the fund has backing from drugmakers including Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Pfizer Ventures.

Italian fiBioClec—headquartered in Italy—is focused on developing disease-modifying interventions that target a novel microglial pathway in Alzheimer’s disease. Marco Colonna, co-founder of the company, which is still in its discovery phase, said that “by targeting [microglia], we aim to revolutionize the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.”

Sofinnova Exceeds Biotech Fund Goal and Launches Three New Companies — Credit: byakkaya/Getty Images

Forth Therapeutics, a spin-out of the University of Edinburgh, is advancing next-generation precision therapeutics for fibrosis.

Signadori Bio, meanwhile, is a novel cell therapy platform, developed from research at the Gustave Roussy Institute.

Sofinnova’s original Biovelocita investment fund focused on Italy, but the new fund also includes France, the U.K., and Denmark.

“The strong response from our pharmaceutical partners and the fact that we exceeded our fundraising target underscore the demand for such an approach,” said Graziano Seghezzi, managing partner at Sofinnova.

Since the launch of Biovelocita II, Sofinnova indicated that it has screened over 300 projects, leading to a number of investments. The company said this milestone marks a significant expansion of Sofinnova’s biotech acceleration strategy, extending beyond Italy to include France, the U.K., and Denmark, with ambitions to further reach additional European countries in the future.

“Building on the success of Biovelocita I in Italy, we have now developed a pan-European strategy and assembled a world-class team to create and manage companies across the European biotech ecosystem,” said Seghezzi.

He added, “The strong response from our pharmaceutical partners and the fact that we exceeded our fundraising target underscore the demand for such an approach. This achievement highlights our commitment to fostering biotech innovation, supporting visionary entrepreneurs, and shaping the future of healthcare.”

Led by partners Gabriella Camboni, Matthieu Coutet, Alex Leech, and Zhizhong Joel Yao, Sofinnova Biovelocita II is now the largest Pan-European biotech accelerator. The firm aims to create “the next generation of biotech startups.”

Sofinnova says its Biovelocita strategy offers scientific founders a comprehensive, hands-on framework, combining direct management, financial support, and access to Sofinnova’s extensive infrastructure and network.