Sofinnova Partners Announces Third Investment From Its Italian Fund
20.4.2020 10:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Sofinnova Partners, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London and Milan, announced today an investment in Genespire, a Milan-based gene-therapy company developing best-in-class therapies for patients affected by genetic diseases. This is the third investment for the Sofinnova Telethon Fund, bringing the total financing of Italian startups by Sofinnova Partners to €25 million over the past six months. The Sofinnova Telethon Fund is the largest fund in Italy dedicated to biotechnologies, making early-stage investments in Italian companies targeting cures for rare and genetic diseases.
Genespire was spearheaded by the renowned gene therapy pioneer Professor Luigi Naldini. This investment by the Sofinnova Telethon Fund follows on the heels of its leading-edge investments in Epsilen Bio, which is developing a technology to turn off genes linked to specific pathologies without irreversibly modifying the DNA (a major potential safety advantage), and PinCell, a pre-clinical stage biotech company focused on the development of new therapies for rare dermatological diseases.
“These investments are the result of the excellent collaboration between Sofinnova Partners and The Telethon Foundation,” said Graziano Seghezzi, Managing Partner of Sofinnova Partners. “These exceptional start-up companies validate our conviction in the strength of the Italian market for supporting biotechnological advances.”
The Sofinnova Telethon Fund, managed by Sofinnova Partners, received commitments totaling €108 million, exceeding its target and establishing it as the largest fund to emerge from ITATech, a joint venture between the European Investment Fund (EIF) and Italy’s Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CdP). “We have gained unprecedented levels of support from Italian investors for our Italian biotech fund,” added Mr. Seghezzi. “We are proud and humbled by the trust we received from some of the country’s leading institutional, corporate and private investors who more than doubled the initial support provided by ITATech.”
Francesca Pasinelli, CEO of The Telethon Foundation, said the biggest winners of this partnership would be the patients who suffer from rare and genetic diseases. “This Fund has always been about them and additionally, is dedicated to elevating Italian science, supported by Italian investors and focused on Italy’s best entrepreneurs and companies,” she said. “We are seeing deep synergies between what we are doing with Sofinnova Partners and our ongoing, fruitful collaboration with the San Raffaele Hospital.”
The Sofinnova Telethon Fund team is led by technology transfer specialists Lucia Faccio and Paola Pozzi, Partners at Sofinnova Partners, who are based in the Milan office. The office also houses BiovelocITA, Italy’s first biotechnology accelerator co-founded in 2015 by Sofinnova Partners in collaboration with Silvano Spinelli and Gabriella Camboni, two serial entrepreneurs with close ties to Sofinnova Partners. Ms. Faccio has over 20 years of experience in the domain as the Director of Research and Business Development of The Telethon Foundation and as the Director of the Technology Transfer Office at the San Raffaele Hospital. Ms. Pozzi, who succeeded Ms. Faccio at the San Raffaele Hospital, has 16 years of experience in patent portfolio market-oriented management and development leading to incorporation of new companies with strong IP assets.
The Sofinnova Telethon Fund will continue to invest exclusively in Italy, seeking to identify, create and develop some of the best companies in the field of rare and genetic diseases.
About Sofinnova Partners
Sofinnova Partners is a leading European venture capital firm specialized in Life Sciences. Based in Paris, France, with offices in London and Milan, the firm brings together a team of 40 professionals from all over Europe, the U.S. and Asia. The firm focuses on paradigm-shifting technologies alongside visionary entrepreneurs. Sofinnova Partners invests across the Life Sciences value chain as a lead or cornerstone investor, from very early-stage opportunities to late-stage/public companies. It has backed nearly 500 companies over more than 48 years, creating market leaders around the globe. Today, Sofinnova Partners has over €2 billion under management. For more information, please visit: www.sofinnovapartners.com
About Genespire
Genespire is a biotechnology company focused on the development of transformative gene therapies for patients affected by genetic diseases, particularly primary immunodeficiencies and inherited metabolic diseases. Based in Milan, Italy, Genespire was founded in March 2020 by the gene therapy pioneer Prof. Luigi Naldini, Prof. Alessio Cantore, The Telethon Foundation and San Raffaele Hospital. It is a spin-off of SR-Tiget, a world leading cell and gene therapy research institute and backed by Sofinnova Partners.
About Epsilen Bio
Epsilen Bio is a biotechnology company developing transformative therapies for patients affected by underserved medical conditions, through stable and long-lasting epigenetic silencing of genes involved in pathological processes. Based in Milan, Italy, Epsilen Bio was founded in December 2019 by the renowned gene therapy experts Prof. Angelo Lombardo and Prof. Luigi Naldini, The Telethon Foundation and San Raffaele Hospital. Epsilen Bio is a spin-off of SR-Tiget, a world leading cell and gene therapy research institute, and received seed funding from Sofinnova Partners. For more information, please visit: www.epsilenbio.com
About PinCell
PinCell is a biotechnology company targeting a novel pathological pathway to develop first-in-class anti-inflammatory therapy for the treatment of rare, severe skin diseases with high unmet medical need. Based in Milan, Italy, PinCell was founded in October 2008 as an academic spin-off of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia by the world-class dermatology experts Prof. Carlo Pincelli and Dr. Alessandra Marconi. PinCell received seed funding from Sofinnova Partners. For more information, please visit: www.pincell.it
About The Telethon Foundation (Fondazione Telethon)
The Fondazione Telethon is a non-profit organisation created in 1990 as a response to the appeals of a group of stakeholders, who saw scientific research as the only real opportunity to fight genetic diseases and win. Thanks to the funds raised through the television marathon, along with other initiatives and a network of partners and volunteers, Telethon finances the best scientific research on rare genetic diseases, with the ultimate objective of making the treatments developed available to everyone who needs them. Throughout its 28 years of activity, Fondazione Telethon has invested more than € 528 million in funding more than 2.630 projects to study more than 570 diseases, involving over 1.600 scientists. Fondazione Telethon has made a significant contribution to the worldwide advancement of knowledge regarding rare genetic diseases and of research with a view to developing treatments. For more information, please visit: www.telethon.it
About San Raffaele Hospital (Ospedale San Raffaele)
Ospedale San Raffaele (OSR) is a clinical-research-university hospital established in 1971 to provide international-level specialised care for the most complex and difficult health conditions. OSR is part of Gruppo San Donato, the leading hospital group in Italy. The hospital is a multi-specialty center with over 60 clinical specialties; it is accredited by the Italian National Health System to provide care to both public and private, national and international patients. Research at OSR focuses on integrating basic, translational and clinical activities to provide the most advanced care to our patients. The institute is recognized as a global authority in molecular medicine and gene therapy, and is at the forefront of research in many other fields. Ospedale San Raffaele is a first-class institute which treats many diseases and stands out for the deep interaction between clinical and scientific area. This makes the transfer of scientific results from the laboratories to the patient’s bed easier. Its mission is to improve knowledge of diseases, identify new therapies and encourage young scientists and doctors to grow professionally. For more information, please visit: www.hsr.it
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200420005174/en/
Contact information
Bommy Lee
Head of Communications, Sofinnova Partners
blee@sofinnovapartners.com
+33 (0) 6 47 71 38 11
Italy
Havas PR Milan
Marco Fusco
Marco.fusco@havaspr.com
+39 (0) 3456538145
Antonio Buozzi
antonio.buozzi@havaspr.com
+39 (0) 3200624418
North America
RooneyPartners LLC
Kate Barrette
kbarrette@rooneyco.com
+1 212 223 0561
France
StrategiesImage
Anne Rein
anne.rein@strategiesimage.com
+33 (0) 6 03 35 92 05
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
SES Announces Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders15.5.2026 09:30:00 EEST | Press release
SES: Société Anonyme RCS Luxembourg B 81267 Notice is hereby given of the Extraordinary General Meeting of SES, Société Anonyme, to be held at the Company's registered office at Château de Betzdorf, L-6815 Betzdorf (the "Company"), Luxembourg, on Wednesday 17 June 2026 at 3:00 p.m. CET AGENDA Attendance list, quorum and adoption of the agenda Nomination of a secretary and of two scrutineers Cancellation of shares purchased in connection with the buy-back programme of 2 November 2023, as amended on 2 May 2024, in accordance therewith and pursuant thereto - Reduction of the share capital in accordance with article 450-5 of the law of 10 August 1915 on commercial companies, as amended, by forty-four million nine hundred ten thousand seven hundred eighty euro (EUR 44,910,780) through the cancellation of thirty-five million nine hundred and twenty-eight thousand six hundred and twenty-four (35,928,624) shares divided into (i) twenty-three million nine hundred and fifty-two thousand four hun
Experian Partners With ServiceNow to Scale Trusted Decisioning to Agentic AI15.5.2026 09:00:00 EEST | Press release
Experian, the global data and technology company, and ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW), the AI control tower for business reinvention, today unveil a new global multi-year partnership which harnesses the power of autonomous AI agents across platforms, helping businesses make faster and smarter decisions at scale. Through this partnership, autonomous AI agents can gain the ability to act faster, and more consistently, starting with employee onboarding, third-party risk management and model life cycle governance use cases. A major challenge for global organisations adopting agentic AI is achieving scale, with deployments often constrained by a lack of trusted data. In fact, industry research shows that data limitations are the primary barrier for eight in ten organisations. By connecting trusted intelligence directly into enterprise workflows, this partnership enables agentic AI to scale well beyond pilot deployments. With the Experian Ascend Platform natively connected to the ServiceNow AI Platfo
Meiji Seika Pharma: Positive Results from the Phase III Integral-1 Trial of Nacubactam, a Novel β-Lactamase Inhibitor, in Complicated Urinary Tract Infections or Acute Uncomplicated Pyelonephritis ― Published in The Lancet15.5.2026 04:00:00 EEST | Press release
Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Toshiaki Nagasato) today announced that the results of the Integral-1 study, one of two global Phase III clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of its novel β-lactamase inhibitor nacubactam (development code: OP0595), have been published in The Lancet. The article is entitled “---Efficacy and safety of cefepime–nacubactam and aztreonam–nacubactam compared with imipenem–cilastatin for complicated urinary tract infection or acute uncomplicated pyelonephritis (Integral-1): a double-blind, randomised phase 3 trial” (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00596-9/fulltext) Integral-1 is a global, double-blind, randomized Phase III trial (jRCT2031230075) in patients with complicated urinary tract infection or acute uncomplicated pyelonephritis that compared the efficacy and safety of nacubactam co-administered with either cefepime or aztreonam versus imipenem-c
Xsolla and Skich Announce Strategic Partnership to Bring Merchant of Record Payments to an Alternative Mobile Game Marketplace14.5.2026 19:00:00 EEST | Press release
Xsolla, a leading global video game commerce company, today announced a strategic partnership with Skich, an alternative mobile game marketplace operating on iOS in the EU under Apple's Digital Markets Act provisions and on Android globally. Under the agreement, Xsolla will serve as Merchant of Record for in-app purchases and paid game sales distributed through the Skich Store. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260514867730/en/ Graphic: Xsolla Skich serves as an alternative to traditional mobile storefronts, offering developers a way to reach players outside platform-controlled distribution channels. The partnership with Xsolla enables Skich to offer a fully compliant payment and commerce layer, with Xsolla managing payment processing, tax collection, refunds, and regulatory compliance on behalf of developers, removing a significant operational and legal barrier for studios looking to distribute through alternat
Boomi Teams up With Gong to Bring Revenue AI to Boomi Agentstudio14.5.2026 19:00:00 EEST | Press release
Boomi, the data activation company for AI, today announced a collaboration withGong, the leader in Revenue AI, to bring revenue signals captured in Gong natively into the Boomi Enterprise Platform. This collaboration enables enterprises to establish an active data foundation designed to transform customer conversations into coordinated, automated actions across systems and functions enterprise-wide with Boomi Agentstudio. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260514443012/en/ Boomi Teams Up with Gong to Bring Revenue AI to Boomi Agentstudio Gong goes beyond capturing deal activity to surface real-time insights into risk, buyer intent, competitive dynamics, and key engagement signals. That intelligence moves from conversation to coordinated action, flowing across CRM, ERP, product, and operational systems with the governance and security that enterprises require. Through this collaboration, these signals can be serve
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom