BRIEF—Shorla Pharma closes $8.3 million funding

Ireland-based specialty pharma firm Shorla Pharma today announced the completion of a Series A investment of $8.3 million.

The financing was led by Seroba Life Sciences, a European Venture Capital firm headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with additional investment from Irish and Canadian based family offices and participation from Enterprise Ireland.

Shorla has developed innovative oncology drugs with a focus on rare, orphan and pediatric cancers, delivering more effective products in indications where existing treatments are sub-optimal for the target patients.

The company was founded by Sharon Cunningham and Orlaith Ryan (‘Shorla’ is a combination of both first names), both formerly with EirGen Pharma in Waterford, Ireland.

Shorla is based in Questum, a Clonmel, Ireland-based acceleration center.

Together with a strong team of scientists, clinicians and an extensive industry network, the company has an advanced pipeline of innovative drug products to treat a number of unmet patient needs.

The funding will support the advancement of the product pipeline, along with expansion of technical and commercial operations in both Ireland and the USA.