Key Investor Signals
Demonstrated activity in a cholestasis disease model
ClagalsiR demonstrated claudin-3 target engagement and therapeutic activity in an established preclinical cholestasis model, supported by optimized dosing and clinically relevant liver readouts.
Secured CHF 150,000 for translational research
Gebert Rüf Stiftung awarded CHF 150,000 through InnoBooster for the CALDRE project, supporting preclinical proof-of-concept work on its liver-directed GalNAc-siRNA candidate.
Won CHF 150,000 through Venture Kick support
CALDRE completed Venture Kick’s final support stage in 2024, securing CHF 150,000 for lead-candidate validation, off-target analysis and preparation for further development.
Team
Felix Baier
Co-founder & CEO
- Completed a 2019 biomedical-sciences PhD on liver tight-junction expression, regulation and function at the University of Bern.
- Co-authored preclinical research showing that siRNA silencing of Hippo-pathway kinases restored liver regeneration in aged mice.
- Received a UniBE Venture Fellowship to translate university liver-disease research into a therapeutic venture.
Adrian Keogh
Co-founder & CSO
- Conducted biomedical research in the University of Bern and Inselspital liver-research environment.
- Co-authored a 2013 study of natural killer cells and extracellular ATP signaling in a mouse liver-regeneration model.
- Co-authored research testing siRNA silencing of MST1 and MST2 to improve liver regeneration in aged mice.
Deborah Stroka
Co-founder & Scientific Advisor
- Led liver-focused biomedical research at the University of Bern, linking cellular signaling with disease mechanisms.
- Supervised Felix Baier’s doctoral work on tight junctions in normal, regenerating and cholestatic liver tissue.
- Co-authored preclinical work on siRNA-mediated Hippo-pathway modulation and liver regeneration in aged mice.
Daniel Candinas
Medical Advisor and Co-founder
- Directed visceral and transplantation surgery at Bern University Hospital, bringing specialist liver-surgery experience.
- Held research and surgical teaching roles at Harvard Medical School in the 1990s.
- Worked as a consultant surgeon in Birmingham’s liver and hepatobiliary unit before leading the Bern service.
Ulysses von Salis
Legal Advisor and Co-founder
- Advised Actelion on its $30B acquisition by Johnson & Johnson and the simultaneous Idorsia demerger and IPO.
- Advised the Swiss Confederation on its CHF 9B loss-protection guarantee during the UBS–Credit Suisse merger.
- Developed a private-equity and corporate-finance practice advising investors, managers and companies at Niederer Kraft Frey.
Product
CALDRE’s preclinical lead, ClagalsiR, is a GalNAc-conjugated siRNA designed to reduce claudin-3 in liver cells. The approach aims to alter the barrier between adjacent hepatocytes, increase fluid movement into bile and reduce the tissue damage associated with impaired bile flow.
Directing RNA medicine to the liver
The GalNAc component directs the siRNA toward hepatocytes, the main functional cells of the liver. The RNA component is designed to reduce production of claudin-3 rather than broadly suppressing unrelated cellular functions.
Modulating the bile-facing barrier
Claudin-3 helps form tight junctions between liver cells. CALDRE aims to modulate this barrier so more fluid can enter bile, lowering its concentration of damaging components and supporting a protective bile composition.
Advancing a preclinical lead
ClagalsiR has been evaluated in a pre-established cholestasis disease model, including target engagement and liver-injury readouts. CALDRE is advancing the candidate toward studies needed to support an investigational clinical application.
Market Overview
CALDRE addresses prescription therapies for cholestatic liver disease, including patients needing additional treatment after an inadequate response to first-line care. Hepatology specialists guide treatment, while payers and pharmacy channels determine access to medicines in these relatively small, specialized patient populations.
The commercial market includes established first-line medicines and newer second-line therapies for primary biliary cholangitis. These products provide a measurable treatment-spending benchmark within CALDRE’s wider liver-disease focus. Pharmaceutical partners also seek differentiated mechanisms with evidence of liver protection and a viable development path.
Global primary biliary cholangitis therapeutics revenue is estimated at $0.93B in 2026.
Global primary biliary cholangitis therapeutics revenue is forecast to grow 7.86% annually from 2026 to 2031.
Second-line PBC treatment revenue is forecast to grow 11.85% annually from 2026 to 2031.
Hospital pharmacies accounted for 53.60% of global PBC therapeutics revenue in 2025.
Comparable Outcomes
CymaBay Therapeutics
CymaBay Therapeutics developed seladelpar for primary biliary cholangitis, including associated itching, as part of a liver-disease drug programme. Gilead completed the acquisition in March 2024, adding the investigational seladelpar programme to its liver portfolio in a transaction valued at approximately $4.3B.
Dicerna Pharmaceuticals
Developed RNA interference medicines designed to silence disease-causing genes in the liver and other tissues. Novo Nordisk completed the acquisition in December 2021. Dicerna’s GalXC RNA-interference platform supported the development of gene-silencing therapies, including liver-directed programmes.
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Sources
This profile was built from public company materials, ecosystem sources, market references, and professional profiles.