Prelude Therapeutics Advances Cancer Research To Clinical Stage

Prelude Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company located near Wilmington, Delaware, secured funding to establish and advance its drug discovery programs. In total, the company received $60 million in second stage of startup funding, otherwise known as series B financing.

Three years prior, Prelude developed its first discovery program that targets Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) to attack cancer cells. Now with $95 million in total investments, the biopharmaceutical company will advance its PRMT5 inhibitor, known as PRT543.

“We believe PRMT5 inhibitors represent a promising new class of drugs to treat cancers, including ones that have developed resistance to existing targeted therapies. We are also pleased to have assembled such a talented, experienced, and proven leadership team to address some of the most pressing gaps in cancer treatment,” said Kris Vaddi, founder and CEO of Prelude Therapeutics, in a press release.

Prelude operates in the Delaware Innovation Space at the DuPont Experimental Station and is led by another Wilmington-based biotech company, Incyte Corp.

Last month, the CEO of Incyte, Hervé Hoppenot, spoke at the Greater Philadelphia Life Science and Innovation Showcase to address biotechnology leaders who were in Philadelphia for the BIO 2019 International Convention. Hoppenot shared why Incyte relocated to Greater Philadelphia and the positive impact it had on the company in an effort to market the region as a life science hub.