Edinburgh, United Kingdom, February 27, 2017 – Caldan Therapeutics, a spin-out company from the Universities of Glasgow and Southern Denmark, which specialises in developing novel therapeutics targeting free fatty acid receptors for the treatment of metabolic disease, including Type 2 Diabetes and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Mark Payton as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Mark brings extensive experience of growing organisations across all aspects of the biotech environment. He was formerly CEO of Oxagen Ltd and Atopix Therapeutics. He was also co-founder of Orca Pharmaceuticals. He has also previously held senior roles with companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Glaxo Wellcome and Biogen (now Biogen Idec). He is also a Senior Adviser to The Cleveland-based Harrington Project for Discovery and Development.
Commenting on this appointment Dr Liz Roper, Partner at Epidarex Capital, said: “We are delighted to welcome Mark on board to lead Caldan Therapeutics moving forward. Continuing to build a strong management team with experienced and talented executives is crucial to building on the science of Professors Milligan and Ulven to deliver new drugs for metabolic diseases”.
Commenting on this appointment Dr Mark Payton, CEO of Caldan Therapeutics, said: “Having seen the strength of the existing team, the unparalleled profile of the founders in this field and the very exciting progress made to date, I am delighted to take the helm at Caldan and look forward to contributing to the successful delivery of the Company’s goals to deliver new medicines of real benefit to the ever increasing number of patients suffering from metabolic diseases”.
About Caldan Therapeutics
Caldan Therapeutics is a spin-out company from the Universities of Glasgow and Southern Denmark and is based on the long-term collaborative research of Professors Graeme Milligan and Trond Ulven. The company, backed by Epidarex Capital and Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise, specialises in developing novel therapeutics targeting free fatty acid receptors for the treatment of metabolic disease, including Type 2 Diabetes and NASH. For further information, please visit www.caldantherapeutics.com.
About Epidarex Capital
Epidarex Capital invests in early-stage, high growth life science and health technology companies in the UK and US. Epidarex was created to meet the need for more sector-specific risk capital for young companies, including spin-outs from leading research universities. The fund’s international management team, led by Sinclair Dunlop, Kyp Sirinakis, Liz Roper and Pete Finan, has a track record of successfully partnering with top scientists and entrepreneurs to develop highly innovative products for the global healthcare market. For further information, please visit www.epidarex.com.
About Scottish Investment Bank
The Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) is the investment arm of Scotland’s main economic development agency, Scottish Enterprise, operating Scotland-wide in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise. It manages a suite of co- investment funds including the Scottish Co-investment Fund and the Scottish Venture Fund, which are partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Renewable Energy Investment Fund and the Scottish Recycling Fund. SIB is the cornerstone investor in the privately-managed Scottish Loan Fund, managed by Maven Capital Partners and an investor in Epidarex Capital’s life sciences fund. Our investment funds support Scotland’s SME funding market to ensure businesses with growth and export potential have adequate access to growth capital. We also provide a team of Financial Readiness specialists to help companies prepare for new investment and access appropriate finance.
About University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow has been inspiring people to change the world for over 550 years and is a member of the prestigious Russell Group of leading UK research universities. As a world top 100 university with annual research income of more than £181 million and overall student satisfaction rate of 91%, the University of Glasgow is committed to delivering world class research at the same time as the highest standards of teaching and education.
About University of Southern Denmark
The University of Southern Denmark welcomed the first students onto the campus in Odense in 1966 and the university has continued to grow ever since. Today, it has five faculties with more than 27,000 students of which almost 20% are from abroad. The University of Southern Denmark is a regionally based university with campuses in five cities that has a strong international outlook and conducts world-class research. The University of Southern Denmark has been named one of the top fifty young universities in the world.
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