The News

Graziano Seghezzi named Partner at Sofinnova Partners

15/05/2006

Paris, 15 May 2006 – Sofinnova Partners is pleased to announce that Graziano Seghezzi has been named Partner.

Graziano Seghezzi, 37, spent three years with Index Ventures in Geneva, where his areas of investment included biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals. During that time, he was a founding investor in and board member of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (a cardiovascular specialty pharmaceutical company). He was also an investor in and a board member of Hamilton Pharmaceuticals Inc. (a central nervous system pharmaceutical company) and an investor in AlgoRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., which merged with Corgentech Inc. (CGTK), a company listed on Nasdaq.

Prior to joining Index, Graziano worked for Sofinnova Partners in Milan for one and a half years, looking for new investment opportunities in Italian drug discovery and development and medical devices. After graduating from the University of Pavia in Genetics and Microbiology, he spent five years as a biomedical researcher at New York University's School of Medicine. Graziano also has an MBA from RSM Erasmus University.

“We are delighted to welcome Graziano, whom we have known for many years, as a Partner in our Life Science group,” said Antoine Papiernik, Managing Partner. “We believe that his skills and experience will enable him to make a strong contribution to the team and to our strategy focused on investing in and building leading life science companies in Europe.”

For further information, please contact:

Madeleine Resener
Media Relations
Sofinnova Partners
Tel: +33 (0) 53 05 41 00 / +33 (0) 6 20 41 39 82
mresener@sofinnova.fr

About Sofinnova Partners
Founded in Paris in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is one of Europe's leading independent venture capital firms. With €900 million under management, Sofinnova Partners invests in start-ups and early-stage companies in information technology and life sciences. Its investment strategy consists of investing early in teams and projects with high potential, most often acting as lead or co-lead investor. Sofinnova Partners also benefits from a long-established relationship with its sister company in San Francisco, Sofinnova Ventures. Sofinnova Partners’ team consists of 9 professionals who bring market insight and technical expertise to portfolio companies.