OUR TECHNOLOGY
Technology that can unlock the secrets of sugars
Through our proprietary technology, we have the ability to unlock the secrets of complex sugars. This enables us to probe the roles that complex sugars play in fundamental biological processes and the pathways of disease.
We then apply this know-how to develop novel, as well as generic, sugar-based therapeutics — and open up new areas of science.
Our technology enables rapid, precise and comprehensive sequencing of complex sugars. There are three primary components to our technology:
- Proprietary patented enzymes
Using a comprehensive library of proprietary enzymes or reagents, we break down complex sugar chains into measurable units. This provides us with specific knowledge about the basic building blocks that make up complex sugars.
- Improvements to existing analytical techniques as they apply to complex sugars
The second component of our technology is the application of proprietary software and hardware improvements to established analytical techniques. These techniques include matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, or MALDI MS; nuclear magnetic resonance, or NMR; and capillary electrophoresis, or CE; among others. Through these techniques, we analyze and gather information regarding the components, structure and arrangement of the building blocks in sugar chains.
- Proprietary mathematical data integration
The third component of our technology is the application of proprietary mathematical methods that integrate the disparate information obtained from the various analytic techniques. This integration helps us arrive at a specific, numerically derived solution that describes the complete structure of a specific sugar sequence.
Diversity of application — taking our technology beyond sugar-based therapeutics
Our proprietary technology has enabled us to rapidly sequence and accurately verify complex sugars. We are now taking this approach and applying it more broadly to analyze complex mixtures of various types that contain heterogenous building blocks. These include selected complex mixture drugs, as well as therapeutic protein-based mixtures and complex antibody products.