The sale of a minority stake in Sofinnova Partners to PE firm Apollo will allow the European VC to grow while retaining its independence. Fresh off a conversation with Sofinnova’s Antoine Papiernik, Associate Editor Stephen Hansen explains the 50-year-old firm’s proactive approach to finding a partner among private equity firms and what’s next for the firm now that it has more financial firepower. The podcast team also discusses the latest translational tidbits from BioCentury’s Distillery, the first look at clinical data from the CRISPR-based gene editing platform of Caribou and how biopharmas are weighing their commitment to Russian patients against calls to disengage from the country. This week’s podcast is sponsored by MSD (Merck & Co. Inc. in the U.S.), whose London-based European Innovation Hub includes a business development and licensing team, clinical teams and its U.K. Discovery Research Centre. For more information visit, msd.com/licensing.