Dr. Jim Healy has worked as a general partner at Sofinnova Ventures since 2000 and has since been a key investor and served on the board of at least 15 companies. Among those, Jim has financed and served on the board of nine companies which received drug approvals from either the FDA or EMA. He was an early investor and board member of eight companies which subsequently completed initial public offerings and seven companies that have been acquired as private or public companies. Specializing in biomedical research, development and finance, Jim currently serves on the boards of Amarin and InterMune, and is chairman of the board at Hyperion Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for rare diseases. Most recently, he was listed by Forbes as one of the industry’s top life science investors, and in 2012, Jim was named one of the best “young and proven” biotech investors by Xconomy Magazine.

Jim holds bachelor degrees in both molecular biology and Scandinavian studies from UC Berkeley and earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in immunology from the Stanford University School of Medicine. Now, he frequently travels to Sofinnova’s Dublin office to work with the company’s several Irish investments, including biomedical firms Amarin and Prothena.

“I have enjoyed traveling to Ireland frequently to work with the management teams in our portfolio to build strong companies that are making a difference in patient care around the world,” he says.

Born in Maine, Jim grew up delivering papers and working in the hardware and gardening departments of a local store and credits his hard work ethic to his Irish roots, which come from the maternal side of his family. “Many of my ancestors worked as immigrant farmers and ranchers,” he says. “My mother worked two jobs when I was young. If you want to succeed in life you need to put in the effort.”