Camurus: an inside look and my conversation with CEO Fredrik Tiberg

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Camurus CEO Fredrik Tiberg. We initially connected on a Zoom call and later met at the European Endocrine Conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark in May. We agreed to meet in person, learn more about the company and record a podcast.  They graciously invited me to visit their offices in Lund, Sweden, just a short drive over the bridge from Copenhagen. I jumped at the opportunity.

Fredrik Tiberg, here’s a bio if you want to read more about him, is an accomplished CEO and engaging scientist. You can sense his excitement and commitment to his work. His passion for improving patient outcomes through these innovative, life-changing efforts is both transparent and contagious.

Camurus is poised to introduce a new delivery system for an acromegaly drug that has been greatly improved by their FluidCrystal® technology. This technology consists of a proprietary lipid-based solution that transforms into a liquid-crystalline gel after injection in the sub cutaneous tissue – more information here.  In a nutshell, CAM2029 improves the efficacy of the existing acromegaly drug octreotide with an approximate five-fold higher bioavailability compared to the currently approved, long-acting, intramuscular octreotide. This represents a significant improvement over existing octreotide formulations.  Read more here . While traditional depot therapeutics frequently comprise complex microsphere technology for intramuscular injection, Camurus’ FluidCrystal® depot allows for subcutaneous injection of a small volume liquid that transforms into a biodegradable liquid crystal gel at the site of injection.

CAM2029 represents a significant advance replacing cumbersome deep muscle injections with a user-friendly pen device similar to modern insulin and GLP-1 delivery systems. The practical benefits are remarkable: monthly administration, storage at room temperature, and no more traveling with cooling equipment. These improvements may seem incremental to outsiders, but for patients managing acromegaly, they represent important quality-of-life enhancements. But I’ll let Fredrik and the Camurus team tell you all about it in this podcast.

I met Dr. Tiberg at his new offices, toured the lab, and had a fantastic chat about the new drugs and the challenges and opportunities for people with rare diseases, and, importantly, for those working to make their lives a little bit better. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did producing it.