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Sofinnova Investments is a specialist. Where most Sand Hill Road firms spread their bets across software, consumer apps and health care, Sofinnova invests almost entirely in companies developing drugs. Its headquarters sits in the well known office campus at 3000 Sand Hill Road beside Interstate 280. Its history goes back to a French venture firm founded in the early 1970s.
This profile is a neutral explainer for founders and readers following biotech. It relies on Sofinnova's website, read in November 2026, plus SEC filings and news coverage summarized on Wikipedia. Fund figures are dated and attributed. For how venture funds work in general, see our venture capital guide.
From Paris to Sand Hill Road
Sofinnova's About page lays out a timeline. Sofinnova was founded in Paris in 1972 with backing from several French financial institutions. In 1976 it opened a San Francisco office, the start of its US business. Published accounts credit Jean Deléage with leading that American expansion. He was also an early investor in Genentech in the 1970s, according to reporting cited on Wikipedia.
In 1997 the global organization restructured into two separate management companies. The US firm became Sofinnova Ventures. The Paris firm became Sofinnova Partners. They have been independent ever since, which is why two venture firms with nearly the same name now operate on two continents. Around 2019 the US firm changed its name to Sofinnova Investments, a change that shows up in its SEC filings. The firm's own website now simply calls itself Sofinnova.
Other milestones from the firm's timeline:
- 2006: Its seventh fund focused primarily on therapeutics.
- 2009: It opened an office in La Jolla, near San Diego.
- 2011: It opened its new headquarters on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park and raised a fund focused on therapeutics.
- 2016: It raised Sofinnova Venture Partners X at $650 million, which the timeline calls its largest fund to date.
- 2017: It launched a public equity strategy in global therapeutics.
Offices as published
Sofinnova's contact page lists three offices in 2026:
| Office | Address as published |
|---|---|
| Menlo Park | 3000 Sand Hill Road, Building 3, Suite 150, Menlo Park, CA 94025 |
| Boston | One Marina Park Drive, Suite 300, Boston, MA 02210 |
| New York | 27 West 24th Street, Suite 302, New York, NY 10010 |
The La Jolla office named in the timeline no longer appears on the contact page. The Boston office puts the firm close to the Cambridge biotech cluster, where many of its recent companies are based.
What Sofinnova invests in
The firm describes itself as "a healthcare investment firm" that invests in both private and public companies. On the private side it backs late preclinical and clinical therapeutic companies in the United States and Europe. Its key therapeutic areas, as listed on the About page, are oncology, respiratory, dermatology, ophthalmology, neurology and women's health. The portfolio filters add cardiometabolic disease and pulmonology.
That focus matters for founders. Sofinnova is not a place for a digital health app or a medical device startup. It wants companies with a drug candidate that is approaching human trials or already in them. Its pitch to founders covers the whole path: drug development, the regulatory process, company building and the route to an IPO or acquisition.
The public markets side
In 2017 Sofinnova launched what its Platforms page calls an "all-cap, value-oriented, long/short global therapeutics hedge fund" with an emphasis on mid and small-cap companies. Running a public fund alongside venture funds lets the firm keep investing in portfolio companies after they list, a pattern also seen at TCV in technology.
Funds and assets
Sofinnova's website says it has about $4.6 billion in assets under management and committed capital, as of September 30, 2025, unaudited. Recent venture funds, as published:
- Fund IX, 2014: $500 million, per the firm's press release at the time.
- Fund X, 2016: $650 million, per the firm's timeline and press release.
- Fund XI, 2023: reported to have closed at $500 million, based on SEC filings.
- Fund XII: reported in 2024 to be raising with a target of $550 million. Sofinnova's portfolio page already tags 2026 investments to Fund XII. We found no announced final size.
Our biotech investors page cites about $3 billion under management, a figure from an industry exhibitor profile. The firm's own website now gives the higher number above.
Portfolio and results the firm reports
Sofinnova's homepage lists 120 companies funded, 55 IPOs, 33 acquisitions and 38 FDA drug approvals linked to its portfolio. Recent companies on its portfolio page include:
| Company | Area, as described by Sofinnova | Year invested |
|---|---|---|
| City Therapeutics | RNA interference medicines | 2026 |
| Claris Bio | Corneal disease | 2026 |
| Expedition Therapeutics | Inflammatory and respiratory disease | 2025 |
| ARTBIO | Radiopharmaceuticals for solid tumors | 2025 |
| Capstan Therapeutics | In vivo cell reprogramming (acquired by AbbVie) | 2024 |
| BioAge Labs | Obesity and metabolic disease | 2024 |
| Marea Therapeutics | Cardioendocrine disease | 2024 |
The firm's news feed in the fall of 2026 highlighted final trial results from Vera Therapeutics in the kidney disease IgA nephropathy, City Therapeutics' upsized $230 million IPO and Lisata Therapeutics' agreement to acquire Marea. Those are the firm's own highlights. Drug development is risky and many programs fail in the clinic.
How founders approach Sofinnova
Sofinnova is more open than many firms about how to reach it. Its contact page says it would like to hear from entrepreneurs with a bold idea, as well as investors and journalists. It lists a deals address for entrepreneurs, separate from investor relations and general inquiries. Some practical advice:
- Check the fit first. Sofinnova wants therapeutics, usually near or in the clinic. Platform biology with no lead program is a harder sell.
- Lead with data. Summarize the target, the mechanism, the evidence so far and the plan and budget to the next clinical readout.
- Know the regulatory path. Partners will ask how you plan to reach approval and what the FDA will require.
- Look at the people page. Partners have medical, scientific and investing backgrounds. Find the one closest to your disease area.
Our pitching guide covers general etiquette. Stanford's SPARK and Biodesign programs, described on our biotech investors page, are useful steps before a venture pitch.
Local notes: getting to 3000 Sand Hill Road
The 3000 Sand Hill Road campus is a cluster of low buildings on a wooded slope beside the Interstate 280 interchange. Building numbers are posted on site. Allow a few extra minutes to find Building 3 and a visitor space. There is no Caltrain station on Sand Hill Road. Stanford's free Marguerite shuttle S line runs from the Palo Alto Transit Center along Sand Hill Road on weekdays. Rideshare is the simplest option otherwise.
For food, the campus has the Sand Hill Sundeck, reopened by DivcoWest and Bon Appétit Management Company in July 2024 for coffee, lunch and happy hour on weekdays. Hours change, so check before you go. A short way east at 2825 Sand Hill Road, Rosewood Sand Hill has Madera for breakfast and dinner plus a bar. Visiting scientists and executives often stay there or in Palo Alto.
Good to know
- Offices are private workplaces. Visit only for a scheduled meeting.
- Do not confuse Sofinnova Investments (Menlo Park) with Sofinnova Partners (Paris). They are separate firms.
- Many recent portfolio companies are in Boston, Cambridge and San Diego. A first meeting may be in Boston or on video.
- This page is not investment advice and makes no claims about returns.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Sofinnova Investments located?
Sofinnova's website lists its headquarters at 3000 Sand Hill Road, Building 3, Suite 150, Menlo Park, CA 94025. It also lists offices in Boston and New York. The firm says it moved its headquarters to Sand Hill Road in 2011.
Is Sofinnova Investments the same as Sofinnova Partners?
No. The two share a history but have been separate since 1997, when the global Sofinnova organization split into two firms: the US business, then called Sofinnova Ventures, plus Sofinnova Partners in Paris. The US firm changed its name to Sofinnova Investments around 2019.
What does Sofinnova invest in?
Sofinnova says it invests in late preclinical and clinical therapeutic companies in the United States and Europe. It names oncology, respiratory, dermatology, ophthalmology, neurology and women's health as key areas. It also runs a public markets strategy launched in 2017.
How big are Sofinnova's funds?
The firm's timeline says Sofinnova Venture Partners X raised $650 million in 2016. Its eleventh venture fund was reported to close at $500 million in 2023. The website lists about $4.6 billion in assets under management and committed capital as of September 30, 2025.
How do biotech founders contact Sofinnova?
Sofinnova's contact page invites entrepreneurs to write and lists a dedicated deals email address, separate from its investor relations and general addresses. The firm focuses on companies with drug candidates near or in the clinic.