Drug discovery efforts to date have generally overlooked the role that complex sugars play in modulating biological systems. We believe that understanding the role of sugars in disease progression can be used to discover novel therapeutics for a range of diseases, as well as to discover new disease mechanisms that can be targeted with small-molecule or antibody drugs. We also believe it will be possible to develop sugar-based drugs to modulate these pathways.
Our initial discovery focus is in oncology. Cancer is a disease characterized by unregulated cell growth. Complex sugars are involved in the conversion of normal cells into cancerous cells and the regulation of tumor growth. They also play a role in tumor invasion and metastasis. As normal cells change into cancerous cells, the sugar coats that are found on cell surfaces change as part of tumor progression. Detection of these changes potentially provides a new, sensitive means to detect cancer. In addition, since sugars play a role in tumor growth and metastasis, the introduction of sugar structures that can prevent these processes provides a potential avenue for development of new therapeutics.