Glycan Therapeutics

Glycan Therapeutics is a pharmaceutical company that leverages a proprietary chemoenzymatic technology platform to produce non-animal sourced, structurally defined synthetic heparin and heparan sulfate molecules [1, 2, 5]. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, the company's platform allows for the industrial-scale production of homogeneous carbohydrates [1, 3, 7]. By overcoming the limitations and safety vulnerabilities associated with traditional animal-derived heparin, such as contamination risks, the company's technology enables the design and large-scale manufacturing of safe, standardized heparin-like oligosaccharides for clinical and research purposes [2, 4].

The company’s work addresses critical needs in hematology and inflammation by developing novel glycan-based therapeutics, including anticoagulant drugs that target Factor Xa and anti-inflammatory candidates designed to inhibit HMGB1-mediated pathways [5, 8]. Their development pipeline targets indications such as liver ischemia reperfusion injury and drug-induced acute liver failure [5]. Glycan Therapeutics also provides specialized services and research products, including custom synthesis, heparan sulfate microarrays, and reagent chemicals, supporting broader investigations into glycobiology in fields such as infectious diseases, stem cell differentiation, and vascular biology [1, 2, 3]. Their research has been consistently supported by SBIR/STTR grants, underscoring their progress in modernizing carbohydrate-based medicine [4, 5, 8].