European venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners has raised 1.2 billion euros, or nearly $1.3 billion, in fresh funds to invest in life sciences and healthcare companies.
“With the new funds, we anticipate supporting 50 to 60 new companies, empowering a new wave of entrepreneurs tackling some of the world’s most pressing health and sustainability challenges,” Antoine Papiernik, Sofinnova’s chairman, said in a statement.
Sofinnova is one of the most active biotech investors, according to data from BioPharma Dive. Since 2022, it has backed 21 biotech companies, spanning many drugmaking modalities and disease areas. Among its investments are gene therapy company Chroma Medicine, which announced late last year it would merge with Nvelop Therapeutics to form nChroma Bio, as well as CinCor Pharma and Amolyt Pharma, which were acquired by AstraZeneca in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
The €1.2 billion haul means the firm, which was launched in 1972, has more than €4 billion in assets under management. Sofinnova didn’t specify how those funds will be allocated across its investment strategies, which include backing drug startups as well as companies developing medical devices and digital therapeutics. Further details on individual funds will be revealed “upon their final closings,” the firm said.
The raise is one of the first for a major life sciences venture firm in 2025. Last year, notable startup backers including Arch Venture Partners, Forbion and Flagship Pioneering announced fresh funds each exceeding $2 billion, despite what industry observers described as a sluggish fundraising environment.
The number of biotech funds raised by venture capital firms peaked in 2021 with 137 new funds bringing in $30.8 billion, according to PitchBook — the height of a frenzy in investment and initial public offerings for healthcare and life sciences companies. In 2024, that number dropped to 38, though the amount raised, at $16 billion, didn’t drop as sharply.
More capital is flowing into fewer, but larger deals as investors prioritize “companies that demonstrate validated clinical data and clear commercialization pathways,” Pitchbook report author Kazi Helal wrote.
“Conversely, seed and early-stage investments are likely to face significant challenges, as the scarcity of new fund closures among emerging managers and weak exit activity will constrain capital recycling,” he wrote.
Original news source: https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/sofinnova-raises-funds-biotech-venture-capital/741518/
March 4, 2025