Collaboration with Amgen to advance a cancer target discovered using DISCO’s proprietary surfaceome mapping technology
Cologne, Germany, January 7, 2026 – DISCO Pharmaceuticals (“DISCO”), today announced an exclusive license agreement with Amgen to advance novel therapeutic candidates addressing a target that was mapped on the surface of a cancer cell by DISCO’s proprietary platform.
Under the terms of the agreement, DISCO will be eligible to receive up to $618 million total potential deal value plus royalties. Amgen will receive exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize the resulting programs directed against the target.
“This agreement demonstrates the potential of our surfaceome mapping platform technology to uncover cancer cell surface targets with meaningful clinical potential,” commented Mark Manfredi, Ph.D., CEO of DISCO Pharmaceuticals. “The collaboration with Amgen enables us to potentially translate these biological insights into innovative therapies and accelerate our shared goal of delivering better outcomes for patients.”
“Joining forces with a recognized global leader in advancing innovative cancer treatments underscores the potential inherent in our technology to go beyond traditional cancer targets to deliver novel impactful medicines for high need cancer indications,” added Ajla Hrle, Ph.D., CBO of DISCO Pharmaceuticals.
DISCO’s platform combines cell-surface proteomics with advanced protein community mapping to identify previously inaccessible target pairs and surface-bound protein communities. These discoveries are used to guide the development of highly specific, surfaceome-directed therapies such as bispecific antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and T-cell engagers (TCEs). The company’s internal pipeline is currently focused on programs in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer (MSS-CRC).
About DISCO Pharmaceuticals
DISCO Pharmaceuticals is advancing a differentiated pipeline of highly selective, surfaceome-targeted therapies for hard-to-treat tumors. By uncovering novel cell surface target pairs through our disruptive platform, we are designing bispecific ADCs and T-cell engagers with the potential for unprecedented specificity and a broad therapeutic window to drive potent anti-tumor activity. Our first ADC programs are moving towards the clinic for small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer. With each mapped surfaceome, we unlock new indication-specific and pan-tumor opportunities that can fundamentally shift the cancer treatment paradigm.
Contacts:
DISCO Pharmaceuticals
Roopika Menon, PhD
Email: info@discopharma.de
Media for DISCO Pharmaceuticals:
Trophic Communications
Jacob Verghese or Anja Heuer
Phone: +49 151 7441 6179 or +49 151 106 199 05
Email: disco@trophic.eu
