MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sofinnova Investments, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical investment firm, announces the promotions of Maha Katabi, PhD, CFA to General Partner and Sarah Bhagat, PhD to Partner.
Maha Katabi, PhD, CFA who joined Sofinnova in April 2019, has been essential to the firm’s executive team in addition to enhancing the team’s geographic investment coverage across North America and Europe. She is an experienced investor in biopharma companies, with more than two decades of venture capital and public equities investment experience. Maha was a Partner at Sectoral Asset Management since 2008, where she formed and led a dedicated investment team and advisory board to drive investments in private life science companies. Prior to joining Sofinnova, Maha co-invested with Sofinnova in multiple companies, including Apellis Pharmaceuticals (APLS), Ascendis Pharma (ASND), and Trius Therapeutics (acquired by Cubist). She recently led Sofinnova’s investment in Northsea Therapeutics and serves as a Board of Director.
Sarah Bhagat, PhD who joined Sofinnova in April 2017, has made significant investment and organizational contributions to the firm. Sarah has been pivotal to making and helping manage numerous investments at Sofinnova, including Aeovian, Apellis (APLS), Neurana, NextCure (NXTC) NorthSea, Pionyr, and YmAbs (YMAB). She led Sofinnova’s investments in Inozyme, where she serves as a Board of Director, Promedior, where she served as a Board of Director prior to its acquisition, and Akouos, where she serves as a board observer. Promedior received Breakthrough Designation from the FDA for their treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, and was recently acquired by Roche for up to $1.4B. She implemented and manages Sofinnova’s Fellowship Program, which is aimed at providing entrepreneurial and investing experience to Stanford graduate and medical students. Sarah is on the board of Stanford’s Neuroscience Translate Oversight Committee. Prior to joining Sofinnova, Sarah was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University. She was also a Venture Fellow for Canaan Partners. Previously, Sarah worked as a research assistant for The Rockefeller University and was a Clinical Research Coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital.
“These promotions reflect the immense value and distinctive perspectives Maha and Sarah bring to our partnership,” says Mike Powell, PhD, and General Partner of Sofinnova. “Both are talented investors and I look forward to seeing the positive impact they consistently make on our portfolio.”
About Sofinnova Investments
Since our founding in 1974, Sofinnova has been active in life science investing. We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical investment firm with approximately $2.3B in assets under management and committed capital. We invest in both private and public equity of therapeutics-focused companies. Our goal is to actively partner with entrepreneurs in both the U.S. and Europe, across all stages of company formation. From drug development and navigating the regulatory process to company building and IPO, we strive to be collaborative, meaningful board members, and excellent partners at every level. We seek to build world class companies that aspire to dramatically improve the current state of medical care today and ultimately, the lives of patients. For more information, please visit www.sofinnova.com.
