DISCO Pharmaceuticals Appoints Mark Manfredi, Ph.D., As CEO And Completes €36 Million Seed Financing To Advance Surfaceome-Targeted Cancer Pipeline

DISCO Pharmaceuticals announced the appointment of Mark Manfredi, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the completion of a €36 million seed financing round to support the company’s pipeline of surfaceome-targeted drug candidates. 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. 

The funds will be used to advance multiple lead antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer (MSS-CRC) toward IND-enabling studies and to broaden the company’s overall pipeline. Dr. Manfredi succeeds the company’s founder and founding CEO, Roman Thomas, M.D., who will continue to serve as a strategic advisor.

Dr. Manfredi highlighted the potential of DISCO’s proprietary platform to identify novel cell-surface target pairs, enabling the development of differentiated ADCs and T-cell engagers. He emphasized the company’s focus on delivering new treatment options and advancing both lead programs and a growing pipeline of indication-specific and pan-tumor therapies. He also expressed gratitude to Dr. Thomas for his leadership in building the foundation for DISCO’s long-term success.

Lenny Van Steenhuyse, Investment Manager at Ackermans & van Haaren, noted that DISCO’s platform has the capability to reveal previously unknown targets on cancer cell surfaces, opening new therapeutic opportunities. He added that with Dr. Manfredi as CEO, the company is well-positioned to become a leader in surfaceome-guided oncology drug development and expressed support for its path toward clinical advancement.

Dr. Manfredi brings over 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and a strong record in cancer drug development. He most recently served as CEO of Ikena Oncology and previously held roles as Entrepreneur in Residence at Atlas Venture, Chief Scientific Officer at Raze Therapeutics, and Vice President of Oncology Biology at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. During his tenure at Takeda, he contributed to global oncology R&D strategy, helping several novel programs advance into clinical development, including Phase 3 trials that achieved regulatory approval. Dr. Manfredi earned a B.S. from the University of Rhode Island and a Ph.D. in biology from Boston College.

Dr. Roman Thomas, founder and former CEO of DISCO Pharmaceuticals, remarked that the company was established to discover novel medicines by mapping the entire surface of cells and expanding the range of addressable targets for any indication. He expressed confidence in Dr. Manfredi’s leadership to guide DISCO through its next phase of growth while continuing the development of promising programs emerging from the company’s innovative target discoveries.