Zealand Pharma Names Utpal Singh As New Chief Scientific Officer To Lead Next-Gen Peptide Therapeutics Discovery

Zealand Pharma A/S, a biotech company focused on developing innovative peptide-based medicines, has announced the appointment of Utpal Singh as its new Chief Scientific Officer. Utpal will join the company’s executive team and lead its research and translational science efforts.

Adam Steensberg, Chief Executive Officer, Zealand Pharma, stated, “We are committed to expanding our world-leading peptide discovery engine to support the next wave of innovation in Zealand – and Utpal’s appointment further strengthens our foundation for growth. His leadership in the design and discovery of life-changing medicines will be instrumental in our mission to develop enduring therapies for patients.”

Utpal Singh, newly appointed Chief Scientific Officer at Zealand Pharma, also mentioned, “The recent advances in data science and machine learning integrated with Zealand Pharma’s exceptional peptide discovery and translational expertise can create a powerful engine for drug discovery. Our ambitions are backed by the deep expertise and financial capital needed to drive transformative ideas that address critical patient needs. It’s a great time to invest in discovery research, and I’m eager to collaborate with this world-class team to develop medicines that could reshape the future of obesity and more.”

He brings almost 25 years of experience in drug discovery and development. Before joining Zealand Pharma, Utpal was the Senior Vice President of Small Molecule Discovery at Eli Lilly and Company, where he helped drive innovation and build strategic partnerships. His work led to the discovery of many clinical candidates across different disease areas.

Utpal started his pharma career at Merck & Co. in 2001 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in organic chemistry at MIT. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering from Penn State University and a bachelor’s degree in the same field from Purdue University.