Sofinnova closes MD Start III Fund on €48m

The fund's target was €40m. MD Start, which is a group of three funds, was started by Sofinnova in 2010 with the support of corporation Medtronic. MD Start III's predecessors operated as independent companies; however, this third vehicle will operate as a fund managed by Sofinnova.

The fund is open to co-invesment opportuntities with a 2% management fee, 8% hurdle and 20% carry rate.

A spokesperson for Sofinnova told Unquote that "the fund  creates its companies from scratch, which could make the holding period longer than in other cases; however, we have shown that MD Start incubation greatly accelerates the path to clinical stage."

Sofinnova is a pan-European venture capital firm that specialises in life sciences, and is based in Paris.

Investors
Existing investors Medtronic and LivaNova participated in this fundraise. BPI France used its French Tech Acceleration fund for its investment. New investors include the European Investment Fund and Baxter Healthcare Corporation. A number of entrepreneurs in the medical technology field also invested.

Investments
The fund will write equity tickets of approximately €3-4m for seed rounds and series-A rounds. It will invest in life sciences companies and act as an accelerator, providing operational support. MD Start sources medical technology concepts and works with clinicians to develop companies based on their concepts. 

Sourcing for projects will be global, with about 20% from the US, 30% from France and 50% from other European countries. Companies will be created by default in France.

People
Sofinnova Partners – Anne Odoit (partner); Antoine Papiernik (chairman).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Funds
• Venture
• France
• Healthcare
• healthcare
• Sofinnova Partners
• Venture