Zhizhong Yao

Zhizhong (Joel) Yao is a Partner at Sofinnova Partners, where he currently leads early-stage investments for the Sofinnova Biovelocita Strategy. Operating within the biopharmaceutical sector, he targets the creation and acceleration of emerging European biotechnology start-ups. Yao originally joined the venture capital firm in 2015 as an analyst, dedicating his efforts to evaluating new therapeutics and translating complex laboratory discoveries into novel medicines. Through the firm's dedicated in-house accelerator, he actively partners with leading scientific research organizations to commercialize critical medical breakthroughs. Educated extensively in the fields of chemistry, chemical biology, and systems biology, Yao utilizes his academic background to maintain a hands-on approach to early-stage company building. His current focus remains centered on bridging the critical gap between academic research and clinical development to launch and scale next-generation biopharmaceutical enterprises.