What Keltic Pharma Therapeutics does

Keltic Pharma Therapeutics is a pre-revenue biotech spin-out from the University of Glasgow, founded in 2019 by Professors Andrew Tobin (CEO), Graeme Milligan (Scientific Advisor), and Andrew Jamieson (CSO). The company is headquartered at the Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre in Glasgow and is registered as Keltic Pharma Therapeutics Ltd. in Dublin, Ireland, with an 11–50 person team. Its core asset is the proprietary PEPSMOL© drug discovery platform, a three-stage engine that combines mRNA display hit discovery (bio-panning with next-generation sequencing), synthetic biologic design (stable cyclic peptides optimized as New Chemical Entities), and small-molecule/peptidomimetic architecture (3D pharmacophore-informed lead design) to target previously hard-to-drug G protein-coupled receptors such as FFA4. Keltic applies PEPSMOL© across four in-house programs: a covalent PfCLK3 kinase inhibitor for a potential single-dose malaria cure, an inhaled FFA4-targeting biologic for severe asthma, M4 muscarinic receptor activators for Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia, and synthetic biologic NCEs more broadly.

The business model is grant-funded early-stage drug development with future pharmaceutical licensing as the intended monetization path. To date, the company has raised non-dilutive capital from the European Union Malaria Fund (multi-million Euro, 2021), Innovate UK (SMART Grant £350K in 2024 plus an additional ~$444K in late 2024), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ($1.3M in November 2025) — cumulatively on the order of $4–5M. Keltic's go-to-market is B2B: drug candidates are advanced toward licensing deals or co-development with global health organizations (Gates Foundation, MalDA consortium) and pharmaceutical partners, exemplified by a 2025 partnership with BioAscent to integrate PEPSMOL© into external peptide discovery services. Customer/end-user segments are defined by therapeutic use case — global health organizations addressing artemisinin-resistant malaria, respiratory healthcare providers serving severe-asthma patients unresponsive to current therapy, and neurodegenerative/neuropsychiatric populations linked to muscarinic receptor dysfunction. Pricing is not commercially disclosed because the company has not yet commercialized a product.

Name

Keltic Pharma Therapeutics

Legal name

Keltic Pharma Therapeutics Ltd.

Website

https://keltic-pharma.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Keltic Pharma Therapeutics is a pre-revenue Glasgow-based biotech spin-out from the University of Glasgow operating its proprietary PEPSMOL© drug discovery platform to develop synthetic biologics and covalent kinase inhibitors targeting hard-to-drug GPCRs and PfCLK3 for licensing to pharma and global-health partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Drug Discovery and Development

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (3254)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Infectious Disease Specialty Pharmaceuticals (Non-vaccine) (HLAIACAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Respiratory & Allergy Pharmaceuticals (HLAIAAAH), Target Identification & Validation Platforms (omics-driven, chemoproteomics, genetic validation) (HLAAAIAI), Nonclinical Study Management & Regulatory Writing (IND-enabling) (HLAGAFAN)

Keywords

• Drug discovery
• GPCR therapeutics
• Antimalarial drug development
• Synthetic biologics
• Biopharmaceutical research

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Drug Development and Licensing: Pre-revenue biotech company developing proprietary drug candidates through clinical development with the goal of licensing to pharmaceutical partners or achieving regulatory approval for commercialization. Revenue would come from licensing deals, milestone payments, and eventual product sales.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Keltic Pharma Therapeutics is a preclinical biotechnology company that operates the proprietary PEPSMOL© drug discovery platform to develop novel therapeutics against hard-to-drug GPCRs and malaria. The company runs four in-house drug discovery programs targeting treatment-resistant malaria (PfCLK3 inhibitors), severe asthma (FFA4 receptor agonists), Alzheimer's disease, and schizophrenia (M4 muscarinic receptor activators). Drug candidates are advanced through preclinical development with the intent to license to pharmaceutical partners or partner with global health organizations for commercialization.

Product overview

Keltic Pharma Therapeutics is a biotech spin-out from the University of Glasgow founded in 2019 by three professors. The company operates its proprietary PEPSMOL© drug discovery platform, which enables targeting of previously hard-to-drug GPCRs through a three-stage process. The platform supports four in-house drug discovery programs: a malaria program (PfCLK3 inhibitor targeting a single-dose cure), a severe asthma program (FFA4 receptor activators for inhaled biologics), a neurodegeneration program (M4 muscarinic receptor for Alzheimer's and schizophrenia), and the company is also developing synthetic biologics as New Chemical Entities. The company collaborates with BioAscent for expanded peptide discovery services and is advancing toward IND enablement for its malaria drug candidate.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PEPSMOL©: Proprietary drug discovery platform that enables targeting of hard-to-drug GPCRs through a multi-stage process involving mRNA display hit discovery, synthetic biologic design, and small molecule architecture.

Products and services

• PEPSMOL© Platform Proprietary drug discovery platform enabling identification and optimization of synthetic biologics targeting hard-to-drug GPCRs (such as FFA4) through a three-stage process combining mRNA display hit discovery, synthetic biologic design, and small molecule pharmacophore architecture for peptidomimetic lead development.
• Malaria Drug Program (PfCLK3 Inhibitor) Single-dose malaria treatment drug candidate targeting the PfCLK3 protein kinase with the goal of achieving cure, blocking transmission, and providing prophylactic treatment across all parasite life-cycle stages; addresses treatment-resistant Plasmodium falciparum where artemisinin fails.
• Severe Asthma Program (FFA4) Inhaled synthetic biologic drug development program targeting the FFA4 free fatty acid receptor for the treatment of inflammatory airway diseases, specifically severe asthma unresponsive to conventional therapies.
• Neurodegeneration Program (M4 Muscarinic Receptor) Research program developing selective activators of the M4 muscarinic receptor for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia linked to muscarinic receptor dysfunction.

Quantifiable outcome

• Drug can withstand challenges inside the parasite and parasite is unlikely to develop resistance to it
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered strategic and core.

• BioAscentstrategicTechnology or Integration · 19 November 2025Partnership to integrate Keltic's PEPSMOL© platform into BioAscent's drug discovery services, expanding peptide discovery capabilities for GPCR targets. The collaboration aims to accelerate drug development across multiple therapeutic areas.
• University of GlasgowcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKeltic Pharma is a spin-out from the University of Glasgow, founded by three leading professors. The company maintains close collaboration with university researchers and uses facilities including the Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre. Research was led by the Tobin laboratory at the university.
• MalDA (Malaria Drug Accelerator)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerKeltic Pharma is a member of MalDA and collaborates to push discoveries in breakthrough malaria treatments. The consortium focuses on accelerating malaria drug development through collaborative research.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bicycle Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing bicyclic peptide-based therapeutics, including for GPCR and oncology targets. Most directly comparable to Keltic Pharma given its shared use of constrained peptide/synthetic biologic scaffolds for hard-to-drug targets.
• PeptiDream: Japanese biotech operating a proprietary peptide discovery platform (Peptide Discovery Platform System) used to generate constrained therapeutic peptides against difficult targets including GPCRs. Closely analogous platform-model peer to PEPSMOL.
• Sosei Heptares: Specialist GPCR drug discovery company with a proprietary StaR® platform for stabilizing GPCR structures and enabling structure-based drug design. Highly comparable focus on drugging difficult GPCRs through proprietary platform technology.
• Crinetics Pharmaceuticals: Clinical-stage biotech focused on GPCR-targeted therapeutics for endocrine and metabolic diseases, including peptide and small molecule candidates. Comparable as a focused GPCR drug discovery and development company with platform underpinnings.

Emerging players

• Antabio: French anti-infective biotech developing novel small-molecule therapeutics against bacterial and parasitic infections, including drug-resistant pathogens. Comparable to Keltic's malaria program as a small anti-infective developer addressing resistance.

Others

• Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV): Product Development Partnership that funds and coordinates malaria drug development across multiple academic and industry partners. Directly relevant as the dominant global-health counterpart for malaria therapeutics; Keltic's malaria program is positioned to partner with MMV.
• BioAscent: UK-based CRO offering medicinal chemistry and drug discovery services. Direct commercial partner of Keltic (PEPSMOL integration) and therefore a natural comparison point for outsourced discovery capability versus Keltic's internal platform.

Broad incumbents

• Evotec: Large contract drug discovery and development organization with deep infectious disease and anti-malarial expertise through programs with partners including the Gates Foundation. Comparable as a discovery platform operator with overlapping therapeutic area coverage.
• Novartis Anti-malarial Program (Ganaplacide/Lumefantrine): Novartis is advancing ganaplacide-lumefantrine as a next-generation, non-artemisinin antimalarial combination. Most relevant large-pharma incumbent peer for Keltic's PfCLK3 program given competing approaches to artemisinin replacement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/keltic-pharma-therapeutics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Keltic Pharma Therapeutics