Disco Pharmaceuticals GmbH expands seed financing

DISCO Pharmaceuticals GmbH has closed its previous €20m seed financing at €36m. Today’s second closing was led by Ackermans & van Haaren and NRW.Bank, with continued support from existing investors including Sofinnova Partners, AbbVie Ventures, M Ventures, and Panakes Partners.

The additional funding will accelerate the development of DISCO’s Surfaceome-Mapping Platform and advance multiple therapeutic programmes towards clinical development. The platform identifies previously unknown cell-surface target pairs, enabling the precise selection of the most promising candidates for hit optimisation.

Pioneering tumour targeting

DISCO’s Surfaceome-Mapping Platform quantifies all protein targets on the cell surface using proteomics, antibody-based screening of suitable protein ligands, and bioinformatic selection of the most promising candidates for hit optimisation.

Building on this, DISCO develops bispecific Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs), which accurately target tumour cells and deliver cytotoxic payloads directly, as well as T-Cell Engagers, which activate the immune system and direct T-cells specifically towards tumour cells. The first programmes are nearing clinical entry and aim to provide new treatment options for small cell lung cancer (SCLC), microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer (MSS-CRC), and other tumour types.

DISCO explores entirely new cell-surface structures, employs a target-pair strategy for maximum tumour specificity, and uses a modular platform that continuously generates new programmes. The company positions itself as an innovator, opening up new therapeutic avenues rather than merely refining existing approaches.