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
From AI to Autonomous Networks: Mobileum Spark Highlights the Next Frontier of Telecom Intelligence15.10.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Mobileum Inc. ("Mobileum"), a leading global provider of telecom analytics and network solutions, brought together telecom operators and industry leaders during its Mobileum Spark events series in Lisbon (Portugal) and Frankfurt (Germany), to explore how Artificial Intelligence (AI), Agentic AI and automation are transforming network operations and accelerating the evolution toward autonomous networks. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261015172815/en/ Telecom operators, industry leaders, and Mobileum experts at Mobileum Spark 2026. Focused on Risk Management & Fraud Prevention and Network Testing & Assurance, the events featured customer-led discussions, expert insights, and real-world use cases demonstrating how AI and advanced automation are helping operators address increasing network complexity, strengthen fraud prevention, improve service assurance, and drive operational efficiency. A central theme across
Merz Therapeutics Announces Completion of Recruitment in Two Phase III Trials Investigating XEOMIN ® (incobotulinumtoxinA) for Migraine Prevention15.10.2026 09:00:00 EEST | Press release
Merz Therapeutics GmbH, a leading player in neurology-focused specialty pharma, today announced the completion of patient recruitment in two global Phase III clinical trials, MINT-E (NCT07018700) and MINT-C (NCT07018713), evaluating the efficacy and safety of XEOMIN® (incobotulinumtoxinA) for the prevention of episodic and chronic migraine in adults. The trials recruited approximately 1800 adults across 109 study sites in North America and Europe. Migraine affects around 1.1 billion people worldwide, posing a significant burden on patients, society and healthcare systems.1 Both trials are evaluating the change in monthly migraine days from baseline to Month 6 as the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints include changes in monthly headache days, acute medication days and migraine frequency during two-week periods at the end of each injection cycle. “Achieving patient recruitment for both MINT-C and MINT-E six months ahead of plan is an important milestone for our XEOMIN® migraine preven
Tourism Malaysia and Alipay+ Partner to Accelerate Malaysia’s Digital Tourism Transformation15.10.2026 08:10:00 EEST | Press release
Tourism Malaysia and Alipay+, the unified wallet gateway of Ant International, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate cross-border commerce and digitalise merchant engagement across Malaysia's tourism economy. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261014035900/en/ (From left) Mr Mohd Akbal Setia (Head of VM2026 Secretariat and Senior Director, Advertising & Digital Tourism); Mr Mohd Amirul Rizal Abdul Rahim (Director General, Tourism Malaysia); Mr Danny Chung (General Manager of Alipay+ Global Growth Center and Vice President of Ant International); Mr Michael Guo, Alipay+ General Manager of SEA, South Asia and ANZ, Ant International) As Malaysia welcomes visitors for Visit Malaysia 2026–2027 (VM2026–2027), this partnership merges Tourism Malaysia’s destination marketing with Alipay+’s global wallet ecosystem and AI capabilities. It aims to create a highly intelligent digital journey, connecti
PeDRA 2026: Nemolizumab Phase II Data Show Long-Term Symptom Relief for Children Aged 2 to 11 Years With Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis15.10.2026 08:00:00 EEST | Press release
Galderma (SIX: GALD), the pure-play dermatology category leader, today announced new phase II data showing that nemolizumab provided meaningful improvements in itch, sleep disturbance, and quality of life in children aged 2 to 11 years with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, sustained through Week 52.1 The results will be presented at The Pediatric Dermatology Research Alliance (PeDRA) Annual Conference. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261014705800/en/ Up to 25% of children are affected by atopic dermatitis - the most common inflammatory skin disorder in this population - and around one-third of these children have moderate-to-severe disease.11,12 Atopic dermatitis creates a high burden for both the patients and their loved ones, with persistent itch and recurrent skin lesions often disrupting sleep, school, and social confidence.2-8 Despite the high prevalence and significant burden, treatment options are
Takeda’s ORZEYFUL (oveporexton) Launches Simultaneously in Japan and China Giving Physicians First Access to Prescribe Novel Orexin Agonist to Patients with Narcolepsy Type 115.10.2026 03:30:00 EEST | Press release
Takeda (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK)announced today that ORZEYFUL (oveporexton) is now available in Japan and China for the treatment of narcolepsy type 1 (NT1), providing first access to clinicians to prescribe treatment with the new class of medicine. ORZEYFUL is a first-in-class orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonist, in tablet form, designed to treat the underlying orexin deficiency associated with NT1. “We’re excited at the potential to fundamentally change how NT1 is managed across Japan and China,” said Giles Platford, president, International, Takeda. “We’ve heard from patients how ORZEYFUL has improved their daily functioning and quality of life, enormously meaningful outcomes for a condition known to impact many aspects of a person’s life, including work, education and social interactions.”1,2,3,4,5 NT1 is a chronic, rare neurological disease driven by orexin deficiency. People experience a range of symptoms including excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy (sudden loss of muscle tone), disr
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