Sofinnova leads €22m series-A for Enyo Pharma

José Rojo
03 February 2016

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Life sciences investor Sofinnova Partners, the backer of a seed round for French biotech Enyo Pharma in 2015, has led a €22m series-A for the business alongside Morningside Ventures and BPI France.

According to an unquote" source, Sofinnova drew equity from its €240m seventh fund. The deal is the last to be financed via the vehicle, this same source added; Sofinnova's future investments will come from its eighth fund, which closed on €300m in December 2015.

Meanwhile, BPI France provided €5m of the total €22m ticket.The state investor used its InnoBio fund, a healthcare-focused €173m FCPI fund launched alongside big pharma names including Roche and Novartis in November 2009; Enyo represents the vehicle's 18th investment.

Over the next few months, Enyo will use the capital to finance the launch of phase-1 clinical trials for its core product, a compound used to treat hepatitis B. In addition, the biotech intends to set up a separate scheme dedicated to influenza treatment.

The round comes a year after Enyo received €1m in seed capital from Sofinnova. The VC was previously acquainted with the biotech's CEO Jacky Vonderscher; the executive sits on the board of Sofinnova's Swiss portfolio company ObsEva, which was backed via a CHF 32m series-A in 2013 and a CHF 60m series-B in 2015.

The deal is the second to involve Sofinnova in the space of a few days. Earlier on in the week, the life sciences investor took part in a £60m round for its British portfolio company Mission Therapeutics, led by Woodford Patient Capital Trust.

Company
Founded by Inserm scientists Patrice André and Vincent Lotteau in 2014, Enyo develops therapies against hepatitis B, among other acute and chronic viral infections. Unlike other existing treatments, the biotech's antivirals focus on the patient's cellular functions to prevent the virus from triggering. The company is headquartered at the Infectiology Center of Lyonbiopôle in Lyon.

People
Sofinnova Partners – Rafaèle Tordjman (managing partner).
BPI France – Chahra Louafi (senior investment director); Benoît Barteau (investment manager).
Enyo Pharma – Jacky Vonderscher (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Dechert, Anne-Charlotte Rivière, Quentin Durand (Legal); Colombus, Gad Aiach (Financial due diligence).