LSIPR 50 2017: Denis Lucquin
Name: Denis Lucquin
Organisation: Sofinnova Partners
Position: Managing partner
“All venture capitalists and investors will say the same thing: it’s the management team, the management team, and the management team. The primary bottleneck is the project leader’s entrepreneurial spirit,” according to Denis Lucquin, managing partner and chairman of Sofinnova Partners, a venture capitalist firm specialising in industrial biotechnology investments.
In a 2004 interview featured in the MarketTech Group Minute newsletter, Lucquin added that a key indication for a successful biotech startup is prior pharmaceutical industry and entrepreneurial experience.
His recent investments include in BioAmber and Green Biologics, developers of bio-sourced molecules for the chemical industry. He has also invested in Avantium, a renewable chemicals company developing biobased plastic bottles for food and beverages.
"A key indication for a successful biotech startup is prior pharmaceutical industry and entrepreneurial experience."
With a great passion for biotech, Lucquin has also founded the France Biotech Association. The mission of the association is to contribute to domestic growth in this innovative industry and support France’s leadership role within the European life sciences community.
Lucquin began his career in academic research and was in charge of the technology transfer department at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), France’s agricultural research institute.
He joined the venture capital industry in 1989 as director of investment at Innolion (Crédit Lyonnais). Since then, he has carried out many investments in Europe, such as in Nicox, Oxford Glycosciences, Oxford Molecular, PPL Therapeutics, and Conjuchem, among others, which all successfully went public.
He also carried out an investment in Novexel, a speciality pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibiotics, which was sold to AstraZeneca.
Lucquin graduated in engineering from L’École Polytechnique and L’École du Génie Rural des Eaux et des Forêts. He has a degree in innovation management from the Université Paris-Dauphine.
