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Dec 11, 2025 8:00 AM

DISCO Pharmaceuticals Appoints Mark Manfredi as CEO and Announces Final Close of €36 Million Seed Financing

Mark Manfredi brings over two decades of international biopharmaceutical industry leadership and cancer drug discovery success to DISCO

Financing will support the development of novel surfaceome-targeted therapies for hard-to-treat tumors

Cologne, Germany, December 11, 2025, DISCO Pharmaceuticals ("DISCO") today announced the appointment of seasoned biotech leader Mark Manfredi, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), as well as the final close of a €36 million seed financing round to advance 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 proceeds will enable DISCO 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 expand its pipeline. Dr. Manfredi succeeds the company's founder and founding CEO, Roman Thomas, M.D., who will continue to support the company as a strategic advisor.

"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 ...