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
TensorX Reaches $5 Million and Appoints Tim Grant as CEO as Demand for Sovereign AI Accelerates8.10.2026 11:19:00 EEST | Press release
TensorX, the Irish sovereign AI inference company, has reached $5 million in revenue as demand for private AI infrastructure continues to grow across Europe and beyond. Tim Grant, who joined the company as Executive Chairman in May, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer to lead as its growth accelerates. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261008373051/en/ Tim Grant, Executive Chairman since May, is appointed Chief Executive Officer as the Dublin company serves more than 5,000 paying customers and expands its infrastructure across Europe. TensorX is a neocloud that delivers inference on open-source AI models using dedicated NVIDIA GPUs with zero data retention, so customer data is not stored, reused or sent outside Europe. Since it began serving customers, the company has raised $10 million in seed funding led by Darius Cubed Ventures. Over seven months, TensorX’s paying customer base grew to over 5,000, rang
Aresbank Strengthens Trade Finance and Correspondent Banking Compliance with SymphonyAI8.10.2026 10:55:00 EEST | Press release
As a specialized corporate and trade finance bank in the MENA region, Aresbank manages risk and moves money across some of the most sensitive trade corridors between Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Operating in a highly regulated environment, Aresbank turned to SymphonyAI, a global leader in Vertical AI whose financial crime compliance platform already spans retail, commercial and correspondent banking, to strengthen its transaction monitoring framework across trade finance and correspondent banking. Headquartered in Madrid, the bank's business centers on trade instruments, including correspondent banking, documentary credits, international guarantees and multi-currency credit lines that connect European and MENA markets. Correspondent banking carries a distinct risk profile, and trade finance flows in the region remain a focus for regulators concerned with sanctions evasion and trade-based money laundering. Aresbank has selected SymphonyAI's transaction monitoring capabiliti
Fortune Media and Great Place To Work Name Experian As One Of The ‘100 Best Companies to Work For Europe’ in 2026 for Second Year8.10.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Great Place To Work® and Fortune Europe have recognised Experian as one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For™ Europe for the second-year running. The 100 Best Companies to Work For Europe list is a comprehensive recognition for business excellence and employee experience, based on Great Place To Work’s proprietary Trust Index™ Survey. Great Place To Work evaluates confidential feedback from employees, validating against HR data from participating companies. Only companies with consistently high survey responses from employees — regardless of their role, department, or status in the company — are honored with placement on the list. Eligible companies have 500 or more employees and were represented on at least one national Best Workplaces™ List in Europe. Jacky Simmonds, Chief People Officer, Experian, said: “We are thrilled to being named one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For™ in Europe for the second year in a row. It’s an incredibly proud moment for us at Experian
Value Group Brings Its Integrated Global IROPS Management Model to the World Aviation Festival8.10.2026 09:32:00 EEST | Press release
Value Group, a leading provider of integrated aviation disruption management solutions, returns to the World Aviation Festival as a Gold Sponsor, reinforcing its role in the evolution of airline disruption management. From 13 to 15 October at FIL in Lisbon, the event is one of the aviation industry’s leading international technology conferences and exhibitions, bringing together airlines, airports and travel technology companies worldwide. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261007885823/en/ Thomas Sergnese, Co-CEO & Chief Commercial Officer and Daniele Bocchieri, Co-CEO & Chief Operating Officer At stand 1-180, Value Group will showcase the evolution of its integrated disruption management model and the RUBIK digital ecosystem, demonstrating how technology, operations and governance can work together as one connected system to manage irregular operations more effectively at both global and local level. Over the p
Colruyt Group Crosses the 150 Store Milestone With Rollout of Toshiba ELERA® Self Service Store Deployments8.10.2026 08:30:00 EEST | Press release
Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions today announced the successful deployment of its ELERA® Self Service solution across 144 Colruyt Group stores: Okay, Okay City, Spar Colruyt Group and Bio-Planet. Today, 454 self-checkout systems have already been installed year-to-date across 150 stores. The project continues to expand, with an additional 51 stores planned in 2026 and further rollout in 2027. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261007465701/en/ Toshiba’s ELERA® Self Service successfully deployed across Okay, Okay City, Spar Colruyt Group and Bio-Planet stores in Belgium. The deployment was designed to support a fast, intuitive, and customer-friendly checkout experience, while maintaining the personal interaction that remains important within the convenience retail environment. Across the stores, employees remain present near the self-checkout area to assist customers whenever needed, helping ensure accessibility
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