Sofinnova Partners, a European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London and Milan, has made an investment in Genespire, a Milan-based gene-therapy company developing best-in-class therapies for patients affected by genetic diseases. This is the third investment for the Sofinnova Telethon Fund, bringing the total financing of Italian startups by Sofinnova Partners to EUR25 million over the past six months. The Sofinnova Telethon Fund is the largest fund in Italy dedicated to biotechnologies, making early-stage investments in Italian companies targeting cures for rare and genetic diseases.
Genespire was spearheaded by the renowned gene therapy pioneer Professor Luigi Naldini. This investment by the Sofinnova Telethon Fund follows on the heels of its leading-edge investments in Epsilen Bio, which is developing a technology to turn off genes linked to specific pathologies without irreversibly modifying the DNA (a major potential safety advantage), and PinCell, a pre-clinical stage biotech company focused on the development of new therapies for rare dermatological diseases.
“These investments are the result of the excellent collaboration between Sofinnova Partners and The Telethon Foundation,” says Graziano Seghezzi, Managing Partner of Sofinnova Partners. “These exceptional start-up companies validate our conviction in the strength of the Italian market for supporting biotechnological advances.”
The Sofinnova Telethon Fund, managed by Sofinnova Partners, received commitments totalling EUR108 million, exceeding its target and establishing it as the largest fund to emerge from ITATech, a joint venture between the European Investment Fund (EIF) and Italy’s Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CdP). “We have gained unprecedented levels of support from Italian investors for our Italian biotech fund,” adds Seghezzi. “We are proud and humbled by the trust we received from some of the country’s leading institutional, corporate and private investors who more than doubled the initial support provided by ITATech.”
Francesca Pasinelli, CEO of The Telethon Foundation, says the biggest winners of this partnership would be the patients who suffer from rare and genetic diseases. “This Fund has always been about them and additionally, is dedicated to elevating Italian science, supported by Italian investors and focused on Italy’s best entrepreneurs and companies,” she said. “We are seeing deep synergies between what we are doing with Sofinnova Partners and our ongoing, fruitful collaboration with the San Raffaele Hospital.”
