DISCO Pharmaceuticals has appointed biotech executive Mark Manfredi, Ph.D., as chief executive officer and completed the final close of a €36 million seed financing round to advance its pipeline of surfaceome-targeted drug candidates for hard-to-treat tumors.
The seed expansion was co-led by Ackermans & van Haaren and NRW.Bank, with participation from existing investors Sofinnova Partners, AbbVie Ventures, M Ventures, and Panakes Partners. DISCO said the proceeds will be used to move multiple lead antibody drug conjugate candidates in small cell lung cancer and microsatellite stable colorectal cancer toward IND-enabling studies while expanding the broader pipeline of surfaceome-targeted programs, including both indication-specific and pan-tumor opportunities.
Manfredi succeeds DISCO founder and founding CEO Roman Thomas, M.D., who will continue supporting the company as a strategic advisor. DISCO is developing therapies built on a proprietary platform that identifies novel cell-surface target pairs, a strategy intended to broaden the set of actionable oncology targets and support the design of bispecific antibody drug conjugates and T cell engagers with high selectivity.
Manfredi brings more than two decades of industry experience in oncology research and drug development. He most recently served as CEO of Ikena Oncology and previously was an entrepreneur in residence at Atlas Venture. Earlier in his career, he served as chief scientific officer of Raze Therapeutics and as vice president of oncology biology at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, where he contributed to oncology R&D strategy and helped translate novel mechanisms into clinical development, including programs that advanced into Phase 3 trials and achieved regulatory approval.
With financing in place and the leadership transition complete, DISCO said it is focused on advancing its initial antibody-drug conjugate programs into the clinic for small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer, while continuing to generate new targets and programs through its surfaceome-mapping approach.
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“DISCO’s talented team has demonstrated that its proprietary platform can identify novel cell-surface target pairs, enabling the development of a truly differentiated pipeline of ADCs and T-cell engagers. Our mission is driven by the urgent need for better treatment options, and we remain focused on advancing our lead programs and expanding our pipeline of indication-specific and pan-tumor therapies that have the potential to truly make a difference,” commented Mark Manfredi, Ph.D., CEO of DISCO. “I would like to thank Roman for the leadership that brought DISCO to this stage and positioned the company for long-term success.”
Mark Manfredi, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of DISCO Pharmaceuticals
“DISCO’s platform can open entirely new therapeutic areas by revealing previously unknown targets on the cancer cell surface and their biology,” said Lenny Van Steenhuyse, Investment Manager at Ackermans & van Haaren. “With the addition of Mark Manfredi as CEO, DISCO is poised to become a leader in surfaceome-guided oncology drug development, and we look forward to supporting the company on its path towards the clinic.”
Lenny Van Steenhuyse, Investment Manager at Ackermans & van Haaren
“DISCO was founded to discover novel medicines by mapping the entire surface of cells and significantly expanding the addressable target space for any indication,” said Roman Thomas, M.D., founder and founding CEO of DISCO Pharmaceuticals. “Having led DISCO from its inception to the development of several promising programs emerging from our novel target discoveries, I look forward to the company’s next phase of growth under Mark’s leadership.”
Roman Thomas, M.D., Founder and Founding CEO of DISCO Pharmaceuticals
