Sofinnova Telethon Fund closes on €108m

The fund was launched in 2018 with a €75-100m target; it held a €40m first close in February 2018 and an €80m interim close in September 2018. 

Sofinnova Telethon Fund was established by Sofinnova and ITATech, a joint venture between the European Investment Fund (EIF) and Italian state-backed Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP). It operates in partnership with Fondazione Telethon, an Italian charity foundation specialising in raising money for initiatives and hospitals engaged in the cure of genetic diseases.

The vehicle is led by technology transfer specialists Lucia Faccio and Paola Pozzi, partners at Sofinnova who are based in the firm's Milan office. The office also houses BiovelocITA, an Italian biotechnology accelerator co-founded in 2015 by Sofinnova alongside entrepreneurs Silvano Spinelli and Gabriella Camboni.

"We have a strong, strategic interest in the Italian life sciences market," says Graziano Seghezzi, managing partner at Sofinnova. "The country has a great scientific output and a rich arsenal of biotech companies with innovative projects and high-growth potential. Initially we co-founded the first Italian biotech accelerator, BiovelocITA, in 2015, and subsequently decided to invest in the local life sciences industry with a dedicated fund focused on rare and genetic diseases, which will fuel the development of the sector."

Sofinnova currently supports six companies in Italy, including EryDel, which received a €26.5m Sofinnova-led financing in 2018; and Enthera, which was created by BiovelocITA and is focused on the development of drugs for diabetes and gastrointestinal diseases.

Seghezzi said: "Italy has been central to Sofinnova's growth strategy and will represent a pillar in our European investment activities. We intend to help the Italian biotech ecosystem to grow and expect to deploy additional resources to the country in the coming months and years."

Sofinnova is a venture capital house specialising in life sciences, with a focus on biopharmaceuticals, medical devices and industrial biotechnology. Headquartered in Paris, with further offices in Milan and London, Sofinnova is fully owned by its managing partners and has more than €2bn in assets under management.

Investors
EIF and CDP deployed €40m via the ITATech platform for Sofinnova Telethon Fund.

The remainder was raised from a diversified base of LPs composed of Italian institutional, corporate and private investors, including Italian lawyers pension fund Cassa Forense, bank foundation Compagnia San Paolo and pharmaceutical companies Bracco, Chiesi and Petrone.

Investments
Sofinnova Telethon Fund targets early-stage investments in Italian biotech companies developing cures for rare and genetic diseases. It plans to build a portfolio of 15 companies by investing smaller tickets in seed rounds at first, followed by larger injections to support the companies' expansion plans. It can invest up to 10% of the fund per company.

The vehicle has invested in three companies so far: Epsilen Bio, which is developing a technology to turn off genes linked to specific pathologies without irreversibly modifying the DNA; PinCell, a pre-clinical-stage biotech company focused on the development of new therapies for rare dermatological diseases; and Genespire, which develops therapies for patients affected by genetic diseases, particularly primary immunodeficiency disorders and inherited metabolic diseases.

People
Sofinnova Partners – Graziano Seghezzi (managing partner).

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