Sofinnova Partners exceeds target with €165M biotech acceleration fund, Europe’s largest, with strong Pharma support

• Biovelocita II attracts robust support from leading pharmaceutical companies, including Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Pfizer Ventures
• The fund has already screened over 300 projects and made several investments into new companies to catalyze transformative innovation in biotechnology

PARIS, France – March 18, 2025 – Sofinnova Partners (“Sofinnova"), a leading European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London, and Milan, today announced the final close of Sofinnova Biovelocita II. The fund has exceeded its target, successfully raising €165M, with substantial backing from the top global pharmaceutical companies, including Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Pfizer Ventures. This milestone marks a significant expansion of Sofinnova’s biotech acceleration strategy, extending beyond Italy to include France, the United Kingdom, and Denmark, with ambitions to further reach additional European countries in the future.

Since its launch, the fund has screened over 300 projects and made several key investments into new companies across Europe driving cutting-edge innovation in biotechnology. Among the newly established companies are BioClec, focused on breakthrough therapies for Alzheimer’s disease; Forth Therapeutics, a spin-out of the University of Edinburgh, which is advancing next-generation precision therapeutics for fibrosis; and Signadori Bio, a novel cell therapy platform, developed from research at the Gustave Roussy Institute.

Graziano Seghezzi, Managing Partner of Sofinnova Partners, said: “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. 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 stands as the largest Pan-European biotech accelerator. It is dedicated to creating, building, and managing the next generation of biotech startups. The Sofinnova Biovelocita strategy offers scientific founders a comprehensive, hands-on framework, combining direct management, financial support, and access to Sofinnova’s extensive infrastructure and network. This approach builds on more than a decade of expertise in startup acceleration, in biotech and medtech, which has already been instrumental in creating pioneering life sciences ventures.

With several promising companies already established, Sofinnova Partners is set to unveil more innovative startups, continuing to shape the future of biotechnology.