Sofinnova Partners Announces Two First Investments from its MD Start III Medtech Acceleration Fund
2.7.2020 08:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Sofinnova Partners, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London and Milan, announced today the second investment from its MD Start III Fund, a medtech accelerator that actively works with clinicians and entrepreneurs to develop disruptive medical devices. In May 2019, the fund raised €48 million from key institutional investors and has made two seed investments so far: MastOR and Gradient Denervation Technologies. The most recent investment is in MastOR, a French company leveraging its core expertise in surgical robotics to develop enhanced laparoscopic devices to improve the precision and ergonomics of minimally-invasive surgery. The company was founded in 2019 by a renowned pioneer in laparoscopic surgery, Professor Brice Gayet of the Paris-based Institut Mutualiste Montsouris, and entrepreneur, Pierre Campredon.
“The Sofinnova MD Start team is known for its active, hands-on approach to company building,” said Prof. Gayet. “Their strategic and operational expertise is the perfect complement to the years of research and prototyping we have conducted thus far. Together, we will be able to accelerate the development of this game-changing technology and bring it to its full potential.”
MD Start III also invested in Gradient Denervation Technologies in February. The company is developing a medical device for a transvascular treatment of pulmonary hypertension, based on prior research and intellectual property developed at Stanford University. This has been an important area for MD Start, given its focus on interventional cardiology as a very innovation-savvy and fast-adopting medical community.
“These investments exemplify our mission of transforming innovative ideas into medical realities and backing inventors who are developing disruptive concepts for outstanding medical devices and procedures,” said Anne Osdoit, Partner at Sofinnova Partners. “Our network and partnerships have yielded a rich deal flow pipeline and we are confident in the potential for this fund to continue uncovering first-class devices that address major unmet medical needs.”
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 MastOR
MastOR SAS is a Paris-based, early stage medical device company, developing a surgical robot for laparoscopy assistance. It is a privately held portfolio company of Sofinnova Partners, financed through the MD Start III Fund. The core technology is derived from joint research between the ISIR robotics lab at Sorbonne University and Professor Brice Gayet, a world-renowned surgeon and pioneer in minimally-invasive surgery. For more information, please visit: www.mastor-surgical.com
About Gradient Denervation Technologies
Gradient Denervation Technologies develops a device-based minimally invasive solution for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension with technology derived from an invention by clinicians from Stanford University. It is a privately held portfolio company of Sofinnova Partners, financed through the MD Start III Fund and based in Paris, France. For more information, please visit: www.gradientdenervation.com
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/20200701005947/en/
Contact information
Media Contacts:
Bommy Lee
Head of Communications, Sofinnova Partners
blee@sofinnovapartners.com
+33 (0) 6 47 71 38 11
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
Verdantis Launches MRO360 “The World's First AI-Native Spare Parts Intelligence Platform”8.5.2026 16:40:00 EEST | Press release
Verdantis today announced the global launch of MRO360, a purpose-built AI platform that transforms how asset-intensive organizations manage their MRO spare parts inventory. Designed for manufacturers, oil and gas operators, mining companies, utilities, and other industrial enterprises, MRO360 deploys nine interconnected AI agents that continuously forecast demand, score parts criticality, manage obsolescence risk, calculate dynamic reorder points, helps intercompany plant transfer thereby realizing the exact dollar value of every optimization opportunity across a spare parts catalog in real time. Unlike traditional EAM and CMMS platforms built on static rules, MRO360's agents adapt continuously as demand patterns, supplier performance, and equipment health evolve. For the first time, a maintenance planner can see which work orders are at supply risk today and what to do about it. A CFO can see a live dollar figure of releasable excess inventory. “We have spent over twenty years working
Andersen Global Expands African Platform with Addition of Member Firm in Namibia8.5.2026 16:30:00 EEST | Press release
Andersen Global advances its growth across Africa with the addition of Andersen in Namibia, as Windhoek Advisory & Taxation adopts the Andersen brand, strengthening its ability to serve businesses operating in one of southern Africa’s dynamic emerging markets. A collaborating firm since 2021, Andersen in Namibia is a locally owned professional services firm delivering accounting, tax, and business advisory services tailored to the unique needs of Namibia’s business environment. With expertise spanning mining, agriculture, logistics, tourism, and financial services, sectors critical to Namibia’s economy, the firm supports both domestic enterprises and international businesses establishing operations in the region. Through cloud-based technology and data-driven insights, Andersen in Namibia delivers efficient, scalable solutions that enable businesses to optimize operations, manage tax obligations across jurisdictions, and make informed strategic decisions. “Our transition to the Anderse
Cyble Positioned as a Challenger in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Cyberthreat Intelligence Technologies8.5.2026 16:22:00 EEST | Press release
Cyble today announced it has been recognized as a Challenger in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Cyberthreat Intelligence Technologies. The company believes this recognition underscores Cyble’s mission to make threat intelligence truly operational—delivering AI-native capabilities that enable enterprises, government agencies, and MSSPs to shift from reactive security to proactive, intelligence-driven defense. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260508164528/en/ Cyble Named a Challenger in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Cyberthreat Intelligence Technologies "Security teams are under constant pressure to respond faster with greater accuracy," said Beenu Arora, Co-Founder and CEO, Cyble. "We believe this recognition highlights our focus on delivering intelligence that drives real outcomes—cutting through noise, accelerating response, and enabling confident decision-making at scale." Intelligence That Acts
WHOOP Expands Health Platform with On-Demand Clinician Access and New AI Features8.5.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
WHOOP, the human performance company, today announced a new suite of health and AI-driven enhancements and feature updates across the WHOOP memberships, marking a major step forward in its evolution into an intelligent health platform. These updates deepen the company’s commitment to delivering highly personalized, accurate, and actionable insights. They signal the company’s expansion beyond performance optimization into clinical-grade health support. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260508464188/en/ WHOOP Expands Health Platform with On-Demand Clinician Access and New AI Features “WHOOP is a membership, and we take that seriously,” said Ed Baker, Chief Product Officer of WHOOP. “We’re always asking how we can deliver more value to our members, and these upcoming features are some of the most meaningful we’ve ever built, from bringing clinician support directly into the app to advancing our AI coaching to be mo
Reply Presents the Jury of the Second Edition of the AI Music Contest: This Year Again, Finalists Will Perform on the NOVA Stage of Kappa FuturFestival in Turin8.5.2026 14:24:00 EEST | Press release
Reply, [EXM, STAR: REY], an international group specialised in the development of new AI-enabled business models and always distinguished by a strong drive for innovation, renews its commitment to creative experimentation with the second edition of the ReplyAI Music Contest. The initiative, organised in collaboration with Kappa FuturFestival—one of Europe’s leading festivals dedicated to electronic music—takes the form of an international competition aimed at creatives and innovators who use AI technologies to explore new ways of integrating sound and image, enhancing the role of artificial intelligence in live performances. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260508361016/en/ This initiative is part of the Reply Challenges, a programme of technological and creative competitions that reflects Reply’s commitment to developing innovative training models capable of engaging younger generations. Today, the Reply Chall
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