Sofinnova Investments Announces the Appointment of Dr. Merdad Parsey as Executive Partner

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 9, 2026--

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.

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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.

Dr. Parsey received his M.D. and Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Maryland at Baltimore and his B.S. in Microbiology and Biochemistry from the University of Maryland at College Park. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Stanford University Hospital and a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Colorado Medical Center.

About Sofinnova Investments

Sofinnova Investments is a healthcare investment firm committed to funding innovative products that aspire to meaningfully impact the lives of patients. We invest in both private and public equity companies. Sofinnova actively partners with entrepreneurs across all stages of company formation. We invest over the long-term and bring scientific, clinical, operational and industry experience to work with entrepreneurs and portfolio companies. We support them from company building and drug development through potential financing, strategic and liquidity events.

Founded in 1976, Sofinnova has a long legacy of building what we believe are great companies in both the U.S. and Europe with approximately $4.8B in assets under management and committed capital as of 6/30/2026. For more information, please visit www.sofinnova.com.

Merdad Parsey, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Partner, Sofinnova Investments

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell on Wall Street Wednesday as the price of crude oil rose back above $100 a barrel amid further escalation in the U.S. war with Iran.

The S&P 500 index fell 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 311 points, or 0.6%, as of 10:45 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.4%.

The losses were broad, with retailers among the companies leading the market lower. Amazon fell 1.8% and Starbucks fell 1.5%. Nearly every sector within the benchmark S&P 500 lost ground, but oil companies pushed higher. Exxon Mobil rose 1.9% and Chevron rose 1.6%.

Oil prices drove much of the action on Wall Street. The U.S. destroyed five Iranian tankers on Tuesday in a series of attacks between the two nations. The conflict that began in February has essentially shut down traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil supply passed before the war began.

The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3.3% to $101.18 a barrel. It marks the first time the price surpassed $100 a barrel since July.

The jump in oil prices over the course of the war has fueled already high inflation. Gasoline prices in the U.S. are up about 32% from a year ago to $4.22 per gallon. Higher fuel prices cut into household budgets directly when it comes to the cost of driving, but they also indirectly raise prices for goods because of higher shipping costs.

The price of fiesel, which can have an outsized impact on consumers because it is used in shipping and production, hit an all-time high Friday and has continued to climb since. The average price for a gallon reached $5.94 overnight and is now 9 cents higher than it was Friday.

Inflation was already stubbornly high when the U.S. started its war against Iran because of the ongoing U.S. trade war with much of the world. That trade war is also heating up, especially between the U.S. and its close ally and trade partner Canada.

Wall Street will get more updates this week on inflation, starting with a look at prices at the wholesale level on Thursday with the release of the Producer Price Index for August. It measures prices businesses pay for goods before they reach customers. That report will be followed up Friday with the release of the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, for August, which shows the more direct price impact for households.

The latest reports are expected to show that the rate of inflation remains above 3%. That has been an issue for the Federal Reserve, which is aiming to hold inflation at a target rate of 2%. The central bank has been holding rates steady, but Wall Street is leaning toward a 60% chance that it will raise its benchmark interest rate at its meeting next week, according to data from CME Group.

Higher interest rates make borrowing more expensive. The goal of raising interest rates is to slow the economy and cool inflation.

Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.81% from 4.80% ate Tuesday.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, shares of Meta Platforms rose 5.7% as the parent company of Instagram and Facebook launched a personal artificial intelligence agent, Muse, for people 18 and over who are looking for help with day-to-day tasks like schedules and shopping.

Markets in Europe fell while markets in Asia closed mixed.

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.

Specialists Dilip Patel works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei and New York Dow indexes at a securities firm Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)