Established in October 2019 in Basel, FoRx is developing a new generation of drugs against a unique target class for the treatment of cancer. The company’s scientific foundations are built on the pioneering work of Professor Thanos Halazonetis, from the University of Geneva who discovered novel DNA repair pathways, such as Break Induced Replication (BIR) that enable cancer cells to overcome DNA Replication Stress, a prevalent feature in human cancers but absent in normal, healthy cells. These repair pathways constitute a vulnerability that can be exploited for targeted intervention using synthetic lethality. The Company’s validated BIR targets appear to have the potential for both therapy and maintenance treatment as shown in preclinical knock-out models.
Today FoRx announced the closing of a EUR 10 million seed financing led by M Ventures (venture capital arm of Merck), Novartis Venture Fund and Omega Funds. Pfizer Ventures, the venture capital arm of Pfizer Inc. and LSP (Life Sciences Partners) also joined the seed financing.
New members on the board of Directors
In line with the round, FoRx has welcomed Therese Maria Liechtenstein from M Ventures, Florian Muellershausen from Novartis Venture Fund, Vincent Ossipow from Omega Funds, Vincent Brichard from LSP, and Denis Patrick from Pfizer Ventures to the FoRx board along with Professor Halazonetis.
The board is led by Colin Goddard, the newly appointed Executive Chairman. Colin is a Seasoned Biotech Executive with a long track record of leadership and success in the industry. He works as an investor and board member in a number of early-stage and public biotechnology companies, leveraging over 30 years of experience. "I am excited to join the Board of FoRx as we embark upon this new approach for therapeutic intervention in cancer. With strong scientific foundations and a high-quality investor syndicate, the Company has the potential to materially improve the options available to oncologists around the world", says Colin.
Andreas Goutopoulos, current Senior Scientific Director at EMD Serono and Chief Scientific Officer at Metabomed, is supporting FoRx Therapeutics as interim Chief Executive Officer, as part of his role as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at M Ventures.
(Press release)
The new Swiss Venture Capital Report was published on 26 January. It analyses 304 financing rounds closed in 2020 and includes further article such as an interview with Michael Hengartner, President of the ETH Board, and a list of Swiss "soonicorns". 
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