Welcome Calliditas Therapeutics • New Industrial partner in SweDeliver
“We are convinced that our commitment to SweDeliver will generate mutual value,” states Christian Pedersen, Senior Scientist Pharmaceutical Sciences at Calliditas Therapeutics that recently joined as industrial partner number 14 in our international competence center.
SweDeliver welcomes Calliditas Therapeutics as industrial partner number 14 in our international competence center. With a focus on expanding treatment options and establishing new standards of care for people with rare diseases, the Stockholm-based company fills a strategically important space in the SweDeliver research program.
“We consider the research conducted within SweDeliver to be of very high quality and are convinced that our commitment will generate mutual value. Above all, we hope to add complementary expertise in the fields of drug delivery, while we at the same time assess that the knowledge exchange that characterizes the network will generate new and interesting ideas for our own operations,” says Christian Pedersen, Senior Scientist Pharmaceutical Sciences at Calliditas.
With considerable expertise in pharmaceutical product development and central positions in several strategic partnerships, Calliditas Therapeutics identify, develop and market a pipeline of innovative drugs with the aim of improving patients' lives. The company has already successfully commercialized its lead candidate in the United States and, through fruitful collaborations, conducted launches in both Europe and Asia.
“In addition to collaborating on current challenges in drug delivery within SweDeliver, we also identify the opportunity to develop new and valuable contacts. In parallel, we want to show the highly talented junior researchers at the core of SweDeliver some of the many interesting options that await them in their future careers,” says Christian Pedersen, who in 2009 defended his PhD thesis at Uppsala University's research environment in Pharmaceutical Physical Chemistry.
With the recruitment of Calliditas Therapeutics, SweDeliver takes another important step in realizing its vision to become the world-leading research and competence center within drug delivery. A work that intensified further as Vinnova in 2024 announced their decision to invest five years of continued funding in SweDeliver, expected to give the center a total value of SEK 108 million.
“With Vinnova's continued trust, we are ready to enter yet another level. We are currently implementing a number of strategic initiatives and recently joined ON-TRACT, a new European consortium where we, together with representatives from academia and industry, will pave the way for new oligonucleotide-based drug treatments. That we are now introducing Calliditas Therapeutics as a new partner in our industrial network means that we are also advancing our position in the field of rare diseases,” states Christel Bergström, Center Director at SweDeliver.
Facts Calliditas Therapeutics
- Was founded in 2004 as Pharmalink AB. In 2017, the company changed its name to Calliditas Therapeutics AB.
- Is dedicated to identifying and developing novel treatments for rare diseases.
- Paved the way for the first treatment specifically designed for IgA nephropathy.
- Has on-going clinical trials in the research areas of Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC), Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), Alport Syndrome and Solid Tumors (Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck, SCCHN).
- Calliditas was acquired by the Asahi Kasei Corporation in 2024.
- The SweDeliver industrial partner group represents an international array of pharma and biotech companies that provide the center with broad scientific and industrial competence and experience.
Contact
Christian Pedersen, Senior Scientist Pharmaceutical Sciences
Calliditas Therapeutics AB
Christian.Pedersen@calliditas.com
Christel Bergström, Professor
Center Director, SweDeliver
Christel.Bergstrom@uu.se
text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Calliditas a o