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
Ant International Secures Payment Institution Licence from the Central Bank of Brazil4.9.2026 17:41:00 EEST | Press release
Ant International, the leading global digital payment, digitisation, and FinAI solutions provider, today announced that it has received a Payment Institution (PI) licence from the Central Bank of Brazil. “With the Central Bank's invaluable support, we are ready to step up more reliable and comprehensive global payment and account services to enterprises, platforms and SMEs in the country's dynamic digital economy, in ever deeper collaboration with its highly developed payments ecosystem and financial services industry,” said Rodrigo Reif, General Manager, Ant International Brazil. Ant International provides cross-border payments and account services, embedded credit and treasury services, and other finAI and blockchain solutions to clients across Asia, Europe and the Americas. The company processes over 20 million transactions daily, connecting 2 billion consumer accounts to 150 million global merchants via its digital payment ecosystem. The PI licence builds on the services Ant Intern
Bending Spoons completes the acquisition of Airtable4.9.2026 15:30:00 EEST | Press release
Bending Spoons S.p.A. (NASDAQ: BSP) has completed the previously announced acquisition of Airtable, the platform used by more than 500,000 organizations to reshape how teams organize data and manage critical workflows. “Airtable continues to grow because customers value its best-in-class flexibility,” said Luca Ferrari, Bending Spoons CEO and co-founder. “Teams can bring all their data, context, and AI agents together in one place, shape their workflows around their specific needs, and progressively expand their use of the platform over time. As we take the reins, our focus will be on sustaining that growth by investing heavily in Airtable’s product, customer support, and go-to-market capabilities.” “I’m proud of what the Airtable team has built and excited to see the business enter this next chapter,” said Howie Liu, co-founder of Airtable. “I’m confident Bending Spoons has the resources and long-term perspective to help Airtable continue delivering exceptional value to its customers
EQT to acquire McGill and Partners, a leading specialty (re)insurance broker for USD 2.0 billion, from Warburg Pincus4.9.2026 14:48:00 EEST | Press release
EQT and McGill and Partners are pleased to announce that EQT X ("EQT") has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in McGill and Partners from Warburg Pincus for USD 2.0bn. Founder and Chief Executive Officer Steve McGill will continue to lead the firm, while Chairman John Lloyd will remain actively involved. Both will remain as significant shareholders alongside the firm’s wider colleague base, while Warburg Pincus will sell its equity stake in full, marking a successful conclusion to the firms’ partnership. EQT will invest behind McGill and Partners’ ambition to drive accelerated organic growth and global expansion by continuing to attract and support specialty broking talent in key markets, invest further in technology and data capabilities, and expand the firm’s digital solutions – all while maintaining its independence, entrepreneurial culture, and colleague alignment that have been central to its success. The firm was founded in May 2019 by industry titan,
A Race Is Never Won Alone: With La Tavolata, Barilla Brings the Paddock Family Together on the Monza Grid4.9.2026 13:18:00 EEST | Press release
On Thursday evening ahead of the Formula 1® Italian Grand Prix, Barilla transformed one of the sport’s fastest and most competitive environments into a place where the Paddock Family took center stage. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260902463001/en/ La Tavolata by Barilla on the starting grid of the Monza circuit. More than two hundred people gathered around a single table: drivers, Team Principals, mechanics, engineers, strategists, safety and medical car drivers, personal trainers, tire technicians. The individuals whose collaboration, precision and trust shape every race, every decision and every performance. A nearly 100-meter table set with plates and pasta. With the first-ever Tavolata organized by Barilla and F1, people from across the Formula 1® ecosystem – including VCARB driver Yuki Tsunoda and his Race Engineer Alexandre Iliopoulos – celebrated the same principle that defines racing: exceptional pe
Aqara Showcases The New Smart Lighting Series and Immersive Smart Home Experience at IFA 20264.9.2026 12:30:00 EEST | Press release
Aqara, a global leader in IoT, today announced a new lineup of smart lighting products and a global community platform for smart space creators, at IFA 2026 in Berlin. The announcements reflect Aqara's ongoing vision for AI-driven spatial intelligence — spaces that understand their users and adapt to how people actually live in them. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260904365343/en/ Aqara Showcases The New Smart Lighting Series and Immersive Smart Home Experience at IFA 2026 The new lighting series — spanning indoor and outdoor use — integrates seamlessly with Aqara's existing ecosystem of sensors, switches, and hubs, bringing complete whole-space lighting scenarios and automated controls to life. The new Aqara products showcased include the Floor Lamp T1, LED Downlight T2, LED Strip T2, Outdoor String Lights H1, and Permanent Outdoor Lights H1. In addition, the company will present Aqara Builder, a platform fo
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