European life sciences investor Sofinnova Partners has closed its new biotechnology-focused fund, Biovelocita II, raising €165 million (over $180 million) to support emerging drugmakers. The fund has already launched at least three startups: U.K.-based Forth Therapeutics, French biotech Signadori Bio, and Italy’s BioClec, although the exact funding amounts for each startup were not disclosed.
Forth Therapeutics focuses on developing treatments for fibrosis, based on research from Neil Henderson’s lab at the University of Edinburgh. The company is also supported by the university’s venture fund, Old College Capital. Signadori Bio, originating from the Gustave Roussy oncology research center, will focus on developing cell therapies for cancer. Sofinnova partnered with Gustave Roussy in 2023 to identify research with potential for biotech startups, reviewing 50 projects so far. BioClec, co-founded by Washington University researcher Marco Colonna, aims to develop therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, drawing on Colonna’s research into innate immune mechanisms in neurodegeneration.
Graziano Seghezzi, a managing partner at Sofinnova, highlighted the fund’s broader strategy to create and manage companies across Europe’s biotech ecosystem, assembling a world-class team to do so. Earlier in March, Sofinnova announced it had raised €1.2 billion to support a wide range of life sciences and healthcare initiatives. The firm, founded in 1972, has made notable investments in companies like nChroma Bio, CinCor Pharma, and Amolyt Pharma, the latter two of which were acquired by AstraZeneca.
Since 2022, Sofinnova has backed 21 biotech companies, with plans to support 50 to 60 new companies using the new funds. The Biovelocita II fund extends its reach beyond Italy, aiming to invest in France, the U.K., and Denmark, with potential for future expansion into other European countries.
Sofinnova’s focus is on empowering new entrepreneurs tackling significant health and sustainability challenges, positioning itself as a key player in the European biotech investment landscape.
