GlycoPath Inc. Secures Seed Investment to Further Develop, Validate and Commercialize GlycoTyper™ Mass Spectrometry-Based Assays for Liver Fibrosis, Cirrhosis and Liver Cancer (HCC)
CHARLESTON, S.C., March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GlycoPath Inc., the developer of advanced bioanalytical assays based on its proprietary GlycoTyperTM immunoaffinity technology, announced the closing of its seed investment round with Bruker Corporation (Nasdaq: BRKR) as a new minority investor. Financial details were not disclosed.
The proprietary GlycoTyperTM glycan profiling technology captures diagnostic glycoproteins from blood using multiplexed antibody slide arrays, followed by direct analysis of the glycans present on each glycoprotein by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Presently, the GlycoTyperTM technology is for research use only.
The initial pathology target for GlycoTyperTM, hepatic fibrosis, is currently one of the fastest growing diseases in the US by annual case numbers, and may affect over 100 million people in the US and 1.5 billion individuals worldwide. In addition to providing initial patient screening and risk stratification for liver fibrosis, the planned LDT (laboratory-developed test) assay will be positioned for routine surveillance of at-risk populations. The test is not affected by co-morbidities such as obesity, which are problematic for current fibrosis diagnostic testing protocols.
Dr. Richard Drake, Chief Executive Officer at GlycoPath, said: "Built on thousands of glycan analyses of tissues and biofluids, integrating our translational research glycan profiling assays with precision Bruker MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry instrumentation will accelerate wider adoption of this approach. Our assays are positioned at the nexus of immune response to disease, and circulating biomarkers with the goal to provide novel diagnostic staging assays across the precursor disease spectrum of liver fibrosis, cirrhosis up to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)."
Dr. Peggi Angel, Chief Scientific Officer at GlycoPath, stated: "In the area of liver disease, including hepatocellular carcinoma, GlycoTyper-based research assays are able to detect early-stage cancer at double the rate obtained with the current gold standard markers. This demonstrates the potential of the GlycoTyperTM technology for glycan biomarker studies, as thousands of samples can be quickly analyzed both at the glycoprotein or glycopeptide level, and converted in the future into a rapid diagnostic screening and staging assay. GlycoTyperTM is also proving to be a promising research assay for stratifying patients with other conditions besides liver disease and liver cancer. Our unique assay is highly reproducible and robust, presenting a strong foundation for future clinical diagnostic assays targeting disease-associated changes in glycosylation."
Dr. Rohan A. Thakur, the Executive Vice President for Life Science Mass Spectrometry at Bruker Daltonics, commented: "Our partnership with GlycoPath will enable wider access to the GlycoTyperTM research assays based on our MALDI-TOF technology. It is expected to accelerate translational research towards early detection, potentially support therapy selection in precision medicine, and eventually monitor recurrence of potentially progressive conditions like liver fibrosis or cirrhosis, all using non-invasive liquid biopsy techniques. These are exciting developments in translational research in liver disease, and we are honored to partner with the GlycoPath team."
The initial research-use-only GlycoTyperTM liver fibrosis assay is capable of measuring the glycans of multiple captured glycoprotein targets in a single assay in high throughput by combining the multiplexing features of antibody arrays with MALDI imaging mass spectrometry, creating a new powerful biomarker platform for discovery and validation.
About GlycoPath Inc. – www.glycopath.com/
GlycoPath Inc. is a developer of GlycoTyper-based bioanalytical assays using the Company's proprietary platform technology, developed at the Medical University of South Carolina and licensed from the MUSC Foundation for Research Development. The GlycoTyperTM platform is capable of measuring the glycans of multiple captured glycoprotein targets in a single assay in high-throughput. Hundreds to thousands of glycan measurements per day are feasible, making it amenable for a wide range of bio-analytical applications in drug development, basic and translation research, as well as clinical diagnostics. The current inventory of immunoaffinity slides and glycan analysis reagents have been configured for glycan analysis in the fields of hepatology, oncology, infectious diseases and pharmaceuticals.
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