Sofinnova Partners Welcomes Mano Iyer as Venture Partner
5.1.2023 12:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
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/
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.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230105005045/en/
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
Smartsheet Adds New AI Agents, Integrations and Security Advancements at ENGAGE 20264.11.2026 20:00:00 EET | Press release
Smartsheet, the AI-powered enterprise work management platform, today announced new platform capabilities at ENGAGE 2026, its annual customer conference. The company introduced new AI agents, agentic workflows, system integrations and security controls built to end execution drift: the costly gap between what an organization sets out to deliver and what it actually delivers. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261104562370/en/ Today, Smartsheet introduced new AI agents, agentic workflows, system integrations and security controls built to end execution drift. AI has helped teams move faster, but it is also widening execution drift. As AI agents join people, partners and systems in doing the work, three problems keep that distance from closing. Data is scattered across disconnected tools, so no one sees the full picture. AI is arriving faster than IT can govern it, so leaders hesitate to scale it. Most AI also lack
MultiBank Exchange Holding Forms Predominantly Emirati Board as Platform Records US$500 Billion in Monthly Trading Volume4.11.2026 19:54:00 EET | Press release
MultiBank Group has announced the formation of a predominantly Emirati Board of Directors for MultiBank Exchange Holding, the first interbank trading platform in the BRICS and emerging countries, which achieved in October 2026 a turnover of over US$ 0.5 Trillion. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261104483253/en/ Naser Taher, Chairman of MultiBank Exchange Holding, announced the board which comprises: H.H. Sheikh Juma bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, Board Member; H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Saqr bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Board Member; H.E. Mohammed Al Hakim, Vice Chairman of the Board; H.E. Ali bin Khalid bin Zayed Al Falasi, Board Member; H.E. Rashid Sultan Al Malik, Board Member; Mr. Majid Al Ghaslan, Board Member; and Mr. David Ogg, Board Member. Naser Taher, Chairman of MultiBank Exchange Holding, announced the board which comprises: H.H. Sheikh Juma bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, Board Member. H.E. Sheikh Moham
Smartsheet Unveils vsActual: The AI-Native Platform that Connects Strategy to Execution at ENGAGE 20264.11.2026 19:00:00 EET | Press release
Smartsheet, the AI-powered enterprise work management platform, today unveiled a new AI-native strategic planning and execution product at ENGAGE 2026, its annual customer conference. vsActual is designed to solve the two biggest obstacles to enterprise execution: siloed work scattered across disconnected systems and teams, and the manual tracking and reporting that keeps individuals and executives from seeing problems until it’s too late. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261104989965/en/ Today, Smartsheet unveiled a new AI-native strategic planning and execution product, vsActual. AI is helping individuals move faster than ever, but it's also making it harder to keep everyone moving in the same direction. In fact, a PMI research report found that leaders cited the disconnect between planning and execution as the biggest barrier to reinventing their businesses, and VentureBeat Intelligence found that 64% of res
SES Achieves Optical Communications Milestone for Future meoSphere Network4.11.2026 19:00:00 EET | Press release
SES, in collaboration with leading space technology partners, has successfully demonstrated a bi-directional optical communications link between ground and space through its meoSphere Pathfinder 1 mission, marking an important milestone in the development of the company's next-generation meoSphere network. The achievement validates a critical technology that will support future high-capacity, secure and flexible connectivity services. During the demonstration, SES successfully transmitted video messages from CEO Adel Al-Saleh over a bidirectional optical communications link between Cailabs' optical ground station in Rennes, France, and an SES payload flying on K2’s GRAVITAS mission on their Mega-class satellite platform. The mission utilized a Mynaric CONDOR optical terminal onboard. SES designed, developed, and operated the optical mission and developed automation software that enabled the demonstration. Thales Alenia Space supported system assembly, integration, testing and operation
Acceleronix, IDEMIA Secure Transactions and Orange Announce Flexible, Single-SKU Manufacturing with Quantum-Safe IFPP4.11.2026 17:44:00 EET | Press release
Orange, one of the world’s leading telecom operators, has joined the global quantum-safe In-Factory Profile Provisioning (IFPP) program, jointly launched by Acceleronix and IDEMIA Secure Transactions at MWC Barcelona in February. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261104070181/en/ Acceleronix, IDEMIA Secure Transactions and Orange announce flexible, single-SKU manufacturing with quantum-safe IFPP The program enables device makers to build a single product for every market and connect it to the Orange network before it leaves the factory. Acceleronix and IDEMIA Secure Transactions will demonstrate the solution live at electronica 2026, the international electronics trade fair, at Messe München, Hall C2, Stand 601, from 10 to 13 November. Most connected devices share the same weak spot: provisioning and testing on the production line. In-Factory Profile Provisioning (IFPP) addresses this challenge by enabling conne
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