Epidarex Capital, a venturing fund backed by a number of UK universities, has led a £4.45m ($6.87m) series A into diabetes-focused life sciences firm Caldan Therapeutics, a spinout of Glasgow and Southern Denmark universities.
State-backed investor the Scottish Investment Bank also participated in the round.
Caldan came from a collaboration between the two universities, and is commercialising therapeutics targeting fatty acid receptors in T2 diabetes. At present, 380 million people worldwide suffer from the disease, with the number set to rise to 592 million over the next 20 years.
Elizabeth Roper, partner at Epidarex Capital, said: “Caldan provides an opportunity for Epidarex to back two leading scientific founders in the T2D space with some exciting new approaches. Epidarex Capital’s close partnership with leading research institutions in under-ventured markets is core to its investment model of providing early-stage risk capital to top researchers and entrepreneurs who are developing highly innovative solutions for the global healthcare market.”
