# Valerie Calenda

> Valerie Calenda is a Series B investor at Mérieux Equity Partners backing Health Care. See 16 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Mérieux Equity Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/merieux-equity-partners)
- Location: Lyon, France
- Total investments: 16
- Last investment: Jun 2026
- Lead investor: 69%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/val%C3%A9rie-calenda-33360b18

Valerie Calenda is a Series B investor at Mérieux Equity Partners in Lyon focused on Health Care and Biotechnology. Valérie Calenda started her career as research scientist in Hematology and Virology at the Institut National de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM). After collaborating at a French/US research program on HIV at Davis University in California, she joined Transgene, an affiliate of Institut Mérieux focusing on immunotherapy, in 1994 where she was incharge of several projects focusing on HIV and Cardiovascular areas until 2000. She then led a spin-off project in cardio-vascular therapeutic area before collaborating with a Paris based seed Venture Capital firm. Valérie also managed several biotech clinical-stage product developments within the infectious diseases and oncology disease areas, from pre-IND to Phase 2. This led her to manage both in-licensing and out-licensing activities, including global license agreement and alliance management with Hoffman La Roche, acquisition of biotech assets in Europe and in the US.Valérie joined Mérieux Développement as a Partner in January 2010. Valérie received her PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Marseille and . She holds a degree in Hematology and a B.Sc. in Biochemistry-Immunology from the University of Marseille.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Health Care | 7 | 44% |
| Biotechnology | 6 | 38% |
| Life Science | 4 | 25% |
| Medical | 3 | 19% |
| Medical Device | 2 | 13% |

9 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series B | 4 | 25% |
| Series A | 3 | 19% |
| Series C | 3 | 19% |
| Series D | 1 | 6% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| France | 3 | 19% |
| Spain | 2 | 13% |
| United States | 2 | 13% |
| Israel | 1 | 6% |
| Belgium | 1 | 6% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ona Therapeutics | Ona Therapeutics is a biotech company that specializes in the discovery and development of therapeutic biologics targeting tumor metastatic-initiating cells and lipid metabolism. Founded in 2019 by Salvador Aznar-Benitah and Valerie Vanhooren, it was a spin-off from ICREA and Advanced Studies, and the IRB Institute for Research in Biomedicine. | $86.6M | Series B | Jun 04, 2026 |  |
| DeepUll | DeepUll is a biotech company that focuses its activity on the development of a new diagnostic system for early-stage sepsis condition. DeepUll’s proposal is based on quickly identifying the pathogens and offering the antibiogram within a few hours on the one hand, and on using the data and learning about the patient’s immunological and functionalstatus on the other. The system allows doctors to predict the future appearance and evolution of sepsis within a short period of time and thus provide a suitable clinical response even before the symptoms arise. | $56.9M | Series C | Apr 29, 2025 |  |
| Mablink Bioscience | Mablink Bioscience is a biotechnology company specialized in the development of a new class of cancer drugs, called Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC). | $30.1M | Series A | Oct 14, 2022 |  |
| Amyl Therapeutics | Amyl Therapeutics is a preclinical stage biotechnology company. Amyl Therapeutics uses a novel mechanism to bind to the amyloid fold of toxic protein aggregates of various types, including antibody light chain (AL) or transthyretin (TTR) aggregates, which accumulate in peripheral organs to cause systemic amyloidosis diseases, but also amyloid-β(Aβ), Tau, and α-synuclein aggregates, which accumulate in the brain to cause Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. | $10.4M | Series A | Jun 03, 2021 |  |
| Amyl Therapeutics | Amyl Therapeutics is a preclinical stage biotechnology company. Amyl Therapeutics uses a novel mechanism to bind to the amyloid fold of toxic protein aggregates of various types, including antibody light chain (AL) or transthyretin (TTR) aggregates, which accumulate in peripheral organs to cause systemic amyloidosis diseases, but also amyloid-β(Aβ), Tau, and α-synuclein aggregates, which accumulate in the brain to cause Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. | $10.4M | Series A | Jun 03, 2021 |  |
| AcuSurgical | AcuSurgical is a startup developing a robot for vitreo-retinal surgery. | $7M | Series A | Feb 18, 2021 |  |
| keepMED | keepMED develops a device for treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, a disorder characterized by repetitive episodes of upper airway obstruction that occur during sleep. | $15.3M | Series C | Sep 29, 2020 |  |
| keepMED | keepMED develops a device for treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, a disorder characterized by repetitive episodes of upper airway obstruction that occur during sleep. | $15.3M | Series C | Sep 29, 2020 |  |
| PhysioAssist | Founded in 2012 Physio-Assist is a company at the crossroads of three major technological fields: physics of materials, signal processing, and life sciences.Their company has from the outset worked for the good life of patients and improve their quality of life.The use and ergonomics of their devices have been optimized and studied to besuitable for the daily care provided to patients by healthcare professionals.Physio-Assist offers today solutions for an efficient treatment in airway clearance. | $6.6M | Series B | Sep 18, 2017 |  |
| PhysioAssist | Founded in 2012 Physio-Assist is a company at the crossroads of three major technological fields: physics of materials, signal processing, and life sciences.Their company has from the outset worked for the good life of patients and improve their quality of life.The use and ergonomics of their devices have been optimized and studied to besuitable for the daily care provided to patients by healthcare professionals.Physio-Assist offers today solutions for an efficient treatment in airway clearance. | $6.6M | Series B | Sep 18, 2017 |  |

10 of 16 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Mérieux Equity Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/merieux-equity-partners) — VC Fund, 10 deals together
- [Mérieux Equity Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/m%C3%A9rieux-equity-partners) — VC Fund, 5 deals together
- [C4 Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/c4-ventures) — VC Fund, 4 deals together
- [Meusinvest (Noshaq)](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/meusinvest) — VC Fund, 4 deals together
- [Pitango VC](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/pitango-venture-capital) — VC Fund, 4 deals together
- [4See Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/4see-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together

## About Mérieux Equity Partners

VC Fund · Lyon, France

Mérieux Equity Partners (“MxEP”) is a management company dedicated to venture, growth and LBO investments in the healthcare and nutrition sectors. MxEP actively supports entrepreneurs and industrial companies with differentiated products and services, by providing privileged access to its expertise and international network. MxEP currently managesmore than €600m AUM and has recently launched a new vehicle MP3 of €350m dedicated to growth/LBO.

5 contacts available at Mérieux Equity Partners.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Francois Valencony | Managing Partner,/founder & Executive Officer; Managing Partner & Executive Officer | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/francois-valencony |
| Jean-Francois Billet | Senior Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jean-francois-billet |
| Jean-Guillaume Lafay | Operating Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jean-guillaume-lafay |
| Thierry Chignon | Senior Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/thierry-chignon-2 |
| Valerie Calenda | Managing Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/valerie-calenda |

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## FAQ

### What does Valerie Calenda invest in?

Valerie Calenda invests primarily in Health Care, Biotechnology and Life Science startups, most often at Series B and Series A stage. Most of the 16 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in France. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Valerie Calenda last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Valerie Calenda closed in Jun 2026. Shizune tracks 16 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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