Glytech

GlyTech Inc., established in Kyoto, Japan on April 2, 2012, operates at the forefront of glycoscience, focusing on the therapeutic application of glycans. The company's foundation is built upon research from Otsuka Chemical Co., Ltd. and a collaborative project with Professor Yasuhiro Kajihara of Osaka University, aiming to enable the mass production of highly pure glycans and apply them to biomedical products. Presided over by President & CEO Hiroaki Asai, GlyTech has positioned itself as a key partner for the biopharmaceutical and life science sectors.

The firm's core business revolves around two primary platform technologies: a glycan production platform and a chemical glycosylation platform. This dual capability allows GlyTech to overcome significant barriers in the pharmaceutical use of glycans, namely production scalability and cost-effectiveness. The company has developed methods to extract basic glycan skeletons from natural materials, such as chicken eggs, and then uses chemical and enzymatic processes to create a diverse library of human-type N-glycan structures. This process allows for the production of highly pure, structurally uniform glycans at a scale suitable for both research and commercial manufacturing.

GlyTech's business model is centered on collaboration and partnership with pharmaceutical and research organizations. It offers a range of services, including contract research for drug discovery, custom synthesis of glycans and glycopeptides, and glycosylation services. By precisely attaching specific glycans to drug molecules like peptides, proteins, and oligonucleotides, GlyTech helps its partners enhance the therapeutic properties of their drug candidates. These enhancements can include improved biological activity, longer half-life, and increased solubility, thereby accelerating the progression of discovery targets toward clinical development. Revenue is generated through these fee-for-service activities, collaborative research projects, and the sale of catalog products like N-glycan reagents.

The company's technology enables the creation of 'biobetters'—improved versions of existing biopharmaceuticals—and novel drug candidates by optimizing glycosylation patterns. GlyTech has engaged in numerous business and capital alliances, including with KH Neochem and Yokogawa Electric, to further innovate and expand its technological capabilities. The firm has raised significant funding, including a Series A round in 2018 and a Series B round in 2022, from investors such as Nippon Shokubai, Fushimi Pharmaceutical, and Yokogawa, to support its growth and development pipeline.

Keywords: glycoscience, glycan production, chemical glycosylation, biopharmaceuticals, drug development, glycopeptides, oligonucleotide therapeutics, biobetters, drug discovery services, glycan library, therapeutic enhancement, protein modification, post-translational modification, peptide screening, contract research organization, API manufacturing, N-glycans, custom synthesis, glycosylation platform, biotherapeutic analysis