Glasgow diabetes spin-out Caldan beefs up boardroom

A university spin-out that specialises in potential treatments for type 2 diabetes has bolstered its boardroom in the wake of a £4.5 million cash injection.

Frank Armstrong joins Caldan Therapeutics as chairman. Picture: Contributed

Glasgow-based Caldan Therapeutics, a spin-out from the universities of Glasgow and Southern Denmark, has appointed biotech sector veteran Frank Armstrong – who also chairs Aim-quoted drug developer Summit – as its non-executive chairman.

He is joined by chief financial officer Philip Boyd, chief operating officer Gerry Thomas and Stephen Connolly, vice-president of drug discovery.

The appointments follow November’s £4.5m investment – led by international early-stage life science venture capital fund Epidarex Capital – in Caldan, which is based on the long-term collaborative research of Graeme Milligan and Trond Ulven.

Epidarex partner Liz Roper said: “Building the board and management with experienced and talented executives is crucial to building on the science of professors Milligan and Ulven to deliver new drugs for metabolic diseases.”

Caldan focuses on creating drugs that could stimulate a range of anti-diabetic effects in multiple tissues and organs. It is estimated there are 380 million people with type 2 diabetes worldwide, with that figure estimated to rise to 592 million by 2035.

The firm has also announced a tie-up with Nottingham-based Sygnature Discovery, which is to support its research projects in the metabolic disease arena.