Wilmington-based Prelude Therapeutics, a privately-held, clinical-stage precision oncology company, completed a $50 million Series C financing round led by Prelude’s two existing institutional investors, including OrbiMed Advisors LLC, and a new investor, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC.
“We are pleased to have the support of this sophisticated group of investors who share our vision of bringing effective new therapies to cancer patients in areas of high unmet need,” said Kris Vaddi, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Prelude. “With proceeds from this financing, we believe we are well positioned to continue to execute on building and advancing our pipeline of therapies designed to target key drivers of cancer cell growth, survival and resistance to existing treatments.”
Proceeds from the Series C financing will be used to support the growth and advancement of Prelude’s pipeline.
The Company also announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors:
- Mardi C. Dier: Ms. Dier most recently served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer of Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. prior to its acquisition by Alexion Pharmaceuticals in July 2020. She was responsible for leading the corporate finance, accounting, information technology, global supply chain, business development, investor relations and corporate communications functions. During her tenure at Portola, she successfully led a series of private, public and alternative financings and helped lead the company through its pivotal transition into a commercial organization.
- Victor Sandor, M.D.: Dr. Sandor was most recently Chief Medical Officer at Array BioPharma, Inc. prior to its acquisition by Pfizer Inc. At Array, Dr. Sandor was instrumental in obtaining the approval of Braftovi (encorafenib) and Mektovi (binimetinib). Prior to joining Array, he was Senior Vice President for Global Clinical Development at Incyte Corporation, where he played a role in the approval of Jakafi (ruxolitinib). Dr. Sandor was also Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Oncology at Biogen Idec and held positions of increasing responsibility in oncology product development at AstraZeneca.
