European VC Firm Sofinnova Closes €165M Biotech Acceleration Fund with Pharma Giants' Support

Sofinnova Partners, a leading European venture capital firm, has announced the final close of its biotech acceleration fund, Biovelocita II, raising €165 million ($180 million) with substantial backing from pharmaceutical majors including Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Pfizer Ventures. This latest development marks a significant expansion of Sofinnova's biotech acceleration efforts in Europe, extending beyond Italy to include France, the United Kingdom, and Denmark.

Fund Details and Strategy

The Biovelocita II fund, now the largest Pan-European biotech accelerator, aims to foster up-and-coming European biotechs through a combination of direct management, financial backing, and access to Sofinnova's expansive network and infrastructure. Since its launch, the fund has screened over 300 projects and made several key investments in new biotechs across Europe.

Graziano Seghezzi, managing partner of Sofinnova Partners, emphasized the fund's success, stating, "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 fund is being led by partners Gabriella Camboni, Matthieu Coutet, Alex Leech, and Zhizhong Joel Yao, bringing together a team of serial entrepreneurs and investors to provide a hands-on, robust framework for startups.

Recent Investments and Successes

Several fledgling companies have already emerged from the fund's investments, including:

• BioClec: Focused on developing breakthrough therapies for Alzheimer's disease
• Forth Therapeutics: Exploring next-generation precision therapeutics for fibrosis

Sofinnova's investment acumen has yielded notable results in 2025, with portfolio companies making significant strides:

• Mediar Therapeutics secured an idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis licensing deal with Eli Lilly
• Tenpoint Therapeutics reported a phase 3 success for its presbyopia candidate

Sofinnova's Broader Investment Landscape

The closure of Biovelocita II comes on the heels of Sofinnova's impressive fundraising efforts in 2024, where the firm raised €1.2 billion (approximately $1.27 billion). These funds are earmarked for investment in up to 60 new life sciences companies across Sofinnova's seven investment segments, including biotech, medtech, and digital medicine.

With headquarters in Paris and additional offices in London and Milan, Sofinnova Partners, founded in 1972, currently manages over €4 billion (nearly $4.4 billion) in assets and has backed more than 500 companies throughout its history. The firm's continued success and expansion underscore the growing demand for specialized biotech acceleration and investment in the European life sciences sector.