MENLO PARK, Calif., September 09, 2026–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sofinnova Investments, a biopharmaceutical investment firm, announced today the addition of Merdad Parsey, M.D., Ph.D., to the investment team as an Executive Partner.
Dr. Parsey is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive and physician-scientist with more than 25 years of experience spanning research, clinical development, regulatory approval, commercialization, portfolio strategy and company building across biotechnology, pharmaceutical companies and academic medicine. Throughout his career, he has contributed to the development, approval and launch of numerous medicines across therapeutic areas and modalities.
Prior to joining Sofinnova, Dr. Parsey served as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Gilead Sciences, where he oversaw Clinical Development, Medical Affairs, Clinical Operations, Clinical Data Sciences, Clinical Pharmacology, Biomarkers, Portfolio Strategy and Management, Regulatory, Safety Sciences, and Quality and Compliance. He was responsible for clinical development from pre-IND through launch, portfolio strategy and budget, and served as a member of Gilead’s leadership team and Chair of its Portfolio Committee.
Before Gilead, Dr. Parsey held senior leadership positions at Genentech/Roche, including Senior Vice President of gRED Early Clinical Development, where he oversaw clinical development across therapeutic areas from pre-IND through Phase 2b. Earlier, he served as Chief Executive Officer of 3-V Biosciences, now Sagimet Biosciences.
“Building exceptional teams is central to Sofinnova’s investment approach, and Merdad brings a rare combination of scientific, clinical and operational expertise,” said Jim Healy, M.D., Ph.D., Managing Partner, Sofinnova Investments. “His experience translating innovative science into medicines will be invaluable as we evaluate new opportunities and support our portfolio companies through development.”
“I am excited to join Sofinnova Investments and work alongside a team with a long history of identifying important science and partnering with entrepreneurs to build companies around it,” said Dr. Parsey. “I have had the opportunity to work across early research and clinical development through regulatory approval and commercialization, with the goal of bringing innovative, important new medicines to patients. I look forward to being part of the Sofinnova team to continue those efforts.”
Earlier in his career, Dr. Parsey held clinical development leadership roles at Sepracor, Regeneron and Merck Research Laboratories. He also served as Assistant Professor and Director of Critical Care Medicine at NYU School of Medicine. He serves on the boards of Ardelyx and ArriVent Biopharma and previously served on the boards of Arcus Biosciences and Sagimet Biosciences.
