Leveraging University of Glasgow and University of Southern Denmark research, Caldan is targeting a free fatty acid receptor associated with fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes.
Caldan Therapeutics, a UK-based metabolic disease therapy developer exploiting research from University of Glasgow and University of Southern Denmark, secured £2m ($2.4m) on Tuesday in a round led by research charity LifeArc.
LifeArc invested $1.8m to lead the round, which was also backed by venture capital firm Epidarex Capital.
Founded in 2015, Caldan is developing drugs intended to activate free fatty acid receptors associated with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (Nash), where fat accumulates in the liver and potentially causes scarring.
As many as one in eight UK adults is thought to be affected by Nash, raising concerns over extra stress placed on the National Health Service as more patients require liver transplants or treatment for scarring.
Caldan’s approach exploits the GPR120 free fatty acid receptor to influence the onset of Nash throughout several stages. GPR120 has previously attracted interest for its potential to treat type 2 diabetes, another of…
