Business Wire

Sofinnova Partners Welcomes Mano Iyer as Venture Partner

5.1.2023 12:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release

Share

Sofinnova Partners (“Sofinnova"), a leading European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London, and Milan, announced the appointment of Manohar (Mano) Iyer, a serial entrepreneur with longstanding ties to Sofinnova, as Venture Partner.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230105005045/en/

To view this piece of content from mms.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

Mano Iyer (Photo: Business Wire)

Mr. Iyer will investigate global medical device investment opportunities across the Sofinnova Partners platform of strategies, with a particular focus on helping the firm’s in-house medtech accelerator, Sofinnova MD Start, incubate world-class companies.

Mr. Iyer has more than 25 years of experience in the medical device industry. In 2008, he was a founding member of the original MD Start team that incubated companies including CorWave and LimFlow. He also advised CoreValve, a Sofinnova Capital Strategy portfolio company, which was subsequently purchased by Medtronic for $800 million.

Mr. Iyer founded ReCor Medical during his time as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Sofinnova Partners in 2009. ReCor, another Sofinnova Partners investment, which is developing an ultrasound renal denervation system to treat high blood pressure, was successfully sold to Otsuka Medical Devices in 2018. Mr. Iyer left Sofinnova in 2013 to work full-time as the Chief Operating Officer of ReCor.

Antoine Papiernik, Chairman and Managing Partner of Sofinnova Partners, said: “We are delighted to have Mano back in the fold at Sofinnova Partners. He is an experienced company builder and a respected figure in the medical device community who has shown an uncanny ability to start successful companies no matter what condition the global economy is in.”

Anne Osdoit, Partner at Sofinnova Partners, said: “Mano joins us as MD Start is really hitting its stride. Several of our companies are maturing exceptionally well and we have a healthy flow of promising disruptive medtech projects. Mano brings a deep understanding of the sector thanks to his experience and network in the US and Europe. He also knows our medtech acceleration model inside out, having pioneered it with ReCor. We are thrilled to be working with him.”

Mr. Iyer said: “Sofinnova has realized something truly impressive in developing a first-class medtech ecosystem based out of Europe. The firm is recognized globally as an influential player in the space and I’m excited and proud to be back.”

Mr. Iyer started his career in medical devices as an engineer at Arrow International. While at Arrow, he met Tim Lenihan. In 2001, he co-founded Contract Medical International (CMI) with Mr. Lenihan, and ran operations and engineering. CMI specialized in the development and custom manufacturing of minimally invasive medical device systems. It was acquired by Heraeus Group in 2020.

After earning an MBA from Stanford, he joined Sofinnova Partners thanks to an introduction from Gerard Hascoët, whom he had also met while at Arrow. The trio (Hascoët, Lenihan, Iyer) joined forces with Antoine Papiernik and, with the backing of Sofinnova Partners, founded MD Start to create and incubate innovative medical device companies. Now in its third iteration, MD Start is fully integrated into the Sofinnova platform of strategies.

About Sofinnova Partners

Sofinnova Partners is a leading European venture capital firm in life sciences, specializing in healthcare and sustainability. Based in Paris, London and Milan, the firm brings together a team of professionals from all over the world with strong scientific, medical and business expertise. Sofinnova Partners is a hands-on company builder across the entire value chain of life sciences investments, from seed to later-stage. The firm actively partners with ambitious entrepreneurs as a lead or cornerstone investor to develop transformative innovations that have the potential to positively impact our collective future.

Founded in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is a deeply established venture capital firm in Europe, with 50 years of experience backing over 500 companies and creating market leaders around the globe. Today, Sofinnova Partners has over €2.5 billion under management. For more information, please visit: sofinnovapartners.com.

To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

Contact information

Bommy Lee
Head of Communications
Sofinnova Partners
blee@sofinnovapartners.com
+33 (0) 6 47 71 38 11

North America
RooneyPartners LLC
Kate Barrette
kbarrette@rooneypartners.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

Union of Kansai Governments: Kansai Deep Tech Ecosystem Gains Global Visibility31.3.2026 03:00:00 EEST | Press release

The Union of Kansai Governments has refreshed the Kansai Startup Ecosystem portal, strengthening the region’s global communication platform for startups and deep tech. At the same time, the “DeepTech Frontier Kansai” website has also been updated, further enhancing international visibility for Kansai’s rapidly growing deep tech ecosystem. Kansai’s startup ecosystem has demonstrated steady growth in recent years. The ecosystem’s total value expanded from USD 2.68 billion in 2023 to USD 3.23 billion in 2025. In addition, Kansai rose 20 places in the Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking (GSER) published by Startup Genome, climbing from 99th in 2023 to 79th in 2025, and early-stage funding reached USD 124 million. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260330459051/en/ Kansai’s Strength in Deep Tech Kansai represents a rare ecosystem where fundamental research and industrial application coexist in close geographic proximity,

Klarna Payments Now Available at B-Parts, Europe's Largest Automotive Parts Website30.3.2026 22:51:00 EEST | Press release

Klarna, the global digital bank and flexible payments provider, is joining forces with B-Parts, a leading online retailer of used and original car parts, to offer consumers greater flexibility, convenience, choice and control at the point of payments, with no interest or hidden fees. Through Klarna’s interest-free installment payments, B-Parts customers will benefit from greater flexibility and control over their finances. Klarna also ensures a secure shopping experience thanks to its buyer protection scheme, as well as a range of features such as cashback and deals. "We continue to grow locally, with an increasing number of brands across different sectors recognising the enormous advantage of offering their customers more payment options, those that make for a more convenient and seamless checkout experience," explains Inês Fiúza Marques, Country Manager of Klarna in Portugal. "It's fantastic to have B-Parts on board, and it shows just how broadly our solutions are being embraced." Ma

Office of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Ahmed Al Maktoum Holdings & Gatbits IT Infrastructure Announce Launch of GTBS Digital Ecosystem; Mainnet Set for April 202630.3.2026 21:30:00 EEST | Press release

The Office of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Ahmed Al Maktoum Holdings, in collaboration with Gatbits IT Infrastructure, has officially announced the launch of the GTBS Digital Ecosystem, marking a significant step forward in the global Web3 space. The announcement follows the successful launch of the native GTBS Coin on December 25, with the ecosystem’s mainnet scheduled to go live in April 2026. GTBS represents a full-stack Web3 ecosystem integrating blockchain, artificial intelligence, decentralized finance (DeFi), entertainment, gaming, media, and cloud infrastructure into a unified platform. Built on the philosophy of “All Commitment On Time,” the ecosystem focuses on delivering reliability, scalability, and real-world utility. Designed as a comprehensive digital infrastructure, GTBS goes beyond standalone crypto platforms by offering an integrated environment for users, developers, creators, and enterprises. Its proprietary Layer-1 blockchain powers seamless interaction across se

Yubico Appoints Poupak Modirassari Enbom as Chief Marketing Officer to Accelerate Global Momentum and Drive Market Leadership30.3.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release

Yubico (NASDAQ STOCKHOLM: YUBICO), the creator of the most secure passkeys and a leading provider of hardware authentication security keys, today announced the appointment of Poupak Enbom as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260330278027/en/ Enbom joins Yubico at a pivotal moment as organizations worldwide accelerate the shift to phishing-resistant authentication and modern identity security in the age of AI. “We’re excited to welcome Poupak to Yubico,” said Jerrod Chong, acting chief executive officer, Yubico. “As the threat landscape evolves with AI-driven attacks and increasing automation, organizations are rethinking how they secure digital identities of both humans and AI agents at scale. She brings a unique combination of technical depth, global leadership, and customer-first mindset that will help us continue to expand our impact and support our customers and partners around

HistoSonics Treats First Patients Evaluating the Edison® Histotripsy System for the Treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)30.3.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release

HistoSonics, the developer of the Edison® Histotripsy System and novel histotripsy therapy platform, today announced the successful treatments of the first patients in WOLVERINE, a prospective feasibility trial evaluating the Edison® Histotripsy System for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) at Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong, a teaching hospital for The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The Edison System is a novel, non-invasive, image guided platform that uses the mechanical properties of focused ultrasound, called histotripsy, to destroy unwanted tissue without the need for invasive procedures, and with potentially fewer side effects than traditional, invasive therapies. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260330349844/en/ HistoSonics Non-Invasive Edison Histotripsy System. Image credit: HistoSonics WOLVERINE is a prospective, multi-center, single-arm feasibility trial designed to evaluate

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
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye