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
Clearlake Expands Liquid Credit Platform With Acquisition of LCM Asset Management’s CLO Contracts11.6.2026 14:00:00 EEST | Press release
Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (“Clearlake” or the “Firm”), a global investment firm managing integrated platforms spanning private equity, liquid and private credit, and other related strategies, today announced that its credit platform, Clearlake Credit, will assume management of CLOs managed by LCM Asset Management, LLC. The transaction adds 31 CLOs representing more than $5 billion of assets under management and increases assets managed by Clearlake Credit to approximately $39 billion across liquid credit, private credit, and other customized credit solutions. The acquisition further broadens the Firm’s capabilities, deepens its relationships with institutional investors, and reinforces its client-centric approach and commitment to seeking attractive risk-adjusted returns across market cycles. Milbank LLP and Dechert LLP represented Clearlake Credit in the transaction. GreensLedge Capital Markets advised the seller. About Clearlake Clearlake Capital is a leading global alternative a
Takeda’s Zasocitinib Significantly Outperforms Deucravacitinib in Head-to-Head Phase 3 Psoriasis Study, Promising to Redefine Oral Treatment Expectations11.6.2026 14:00:00 EEST | Press release
Takeda (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) announced positive topline results for the Phase 3, randomized, multicenter, double-blind study comparing zasocitinib (TAK-279), an investigational, next-generation, highly selective and potent oral tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, to deucravacitinib in adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO). In the LATITUDE Atlas (TAK-279-PsO-3004) head-to-head study, zasocitinib demonstrated statistical superiority over deucravacitinib for the primary endpoint, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) 100 response rate at week 16. The study also demonstrated statistical superiority over deucravacitinib for all key secondary endpoints, including PASI 90 response and Static Physician's Global Assessment (sPGA) 0 at week 16. Zasocitinib was generally well tolerated with a consistent safety and tolerability profile and no new safety signals identified. Perspectives on head-to-head zasocitinib study “In this head-to-head study, zasocitinib clearly demonstrated
L&T Technology Services, Databricks Partner to Deliver Industrial AI at Scale for Asset-Intensive Industries11.6.2026 13:30:00 EEST | Press release
L&T Technology Services (BSE: 540115, NSE: LTTS), a global leader in AI, Digital & ER&D Consulting Services, today announced a strategic go-to-market partnership with Databricks, the leading Data and AI company, to co-develop and deliver Industrial AI solutions that advance Engineering Intelligence (EI) for asset-intensive enterprises. Anchored in LTTS' Sustainability segment, spanning Process Engineering, Discrete Manufacturing and Industrial Products, the partnership will support Energy, Petrochemicals and Industrials clients globally. As industrial organizations seek to unlock greater value from decades of operational and engineering data, the alliance will combine LTTS’ deep domain capabilities with the Databricks platform to transform complex plant data into Engineering Intelligence - enabling improved asset reliability, operational efficiency and sustainability performance. The partnership brings together LTTS’ expertise in forward looking technologies and extensive experience ac
Faire Marks Five Years of Growth Outside North America: Over 100,000 Retailers, 50,000 Brands, and More Than One in Four Brands Now Selling Across Borders11.6.2026 12:05:00 EEST | Press release
Five years after launching outside North America, Faire’s community of more than 100,000 retailers and 50,000 brands across 30+ countries in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand shows a retail sector that is innovating and thriving, well beyond the big cities. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260611115823/en/ Faire Celebrates 5 Years of Growth in Europe "It has been a phenomenal five years for Faire internationally, and the opportunity ahead has never been clearer,” said Olivier Buffon, VP and Head of International at Faire. “Europe represents a retail market comparable in scale to North America, and the challenges Faire was built to solve exist wherever independent retail exists. A global platform is more valuable for everyone, and we’re so proud to support businesses becoming more confident and more global in how they buy and sell.” A Retailer Network Spanning Tens of Thousands of Towns Independent retail is al
Stallergenes Greer Will Present New Evidence on Long-term Outcomes in Allergen Immunotherapy at EAACI 202611.6.2026 11:09:00 EEST | Press release
Stallergenes Greer, a global leader in allergy care, will present new clinical evidence and scientific advances in allergen immunotherapy (AIT) at the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) congress, taking place from June 12 to 15 in Istanbul, Turkey. The company will host a scientific symposium entitled “From Nobel Prize discovery to AIT clinical evidence: Shaping pathways to respiratory allergy remission.”Three leading international experts will explore how landmark breakthroughs in immunology have deepened our understanding of immune tolerance, presenting emerging data on remission and long-term outcomes in respiratory allergy. Together, these insights reinforce AIT’s disease-modifying potential and its growing role in personalised medicine. “EAACI 2026 is an exceptional forum for the global allergy community to exchange knowledge and advance the field. Stallergenes Greer is proud contribute to these conversations, bringing together world-leading experts in pur
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