GlycoEra, the Swiss startup advancing a pipeline of extracellular protein degraders for the treatment of autoimmune disorders has secured fresh funding from Bristol Myers Squibb as part of its Series A extension. This announcement also comes with the appointment of industry veteran Greg Fralish as Chief Business Officer to expand and strengthen its leadership team.
Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has joined GlycoEra’s list of investors supporting its mission to address autoimmune diseases. Based in Zurich and the US, GlycoEra is positioned as the leading precision protein degradation company, developing an innovative platform enables high-throughput design and production of candidates for fast and deep degradation of pathogenic proteins.Bifunctional biologics (G-LyTACs), designed by its platform bind to disease-causing proteins and transport them to the lysosome using naturally occurring endocytic receptors. The disease-causing proteins are degraded in the lysosome and removed from the body. Unlike intracellular protein degraders, like PROTACs and molecular glues, GlycoEra’s technology can access targets that are extracellular and membrane proteins, thereby opening up novel targets and therapeutic areas for intervention, including oncology, neurology and infectious disease.
The expansion of its Series A financing follows the initial series A closing in 2021 with an investment 5AM Ventures, Roche Venture Fund and Sofinnova Partners. The fresh capital will flow into advancing GlycoEra's preclinical programs.
"Adding BMS as an investor further validates the depth and breadth of our platform for creating transformative therapies," said Ganesh Kaundinya, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of GlycoEra. "As an established leader in targeted protein degradation and immune-mediated diseases, BMS will be an important investor to help advance the Company's portfolio into development. Additionally, we are excited to welcome Dr. Fralish as CBO to lead strategy, business development and other cross-functional initiatives, enabling our team to fully unlock the potential of our platform and to ultimately bring novel treatments to people living with unmet need across autoimmune diseases."
Industry veteran assumes the role of Chief Business Officer
In addition to the investment from BMS, GlycoEra welcomed seasonsed industry leader Greg Fralish to its executive team as Chief Business Officer. Fralish brings more than 20 years of experience in a variety of roles in business development and strategy, spanning both large pharma and biotech. Prior to joining GlycoEra, he served as the Vice President and Head of Corporate Development at 2seventy bio, the cell therapy spin-out from bluebird bio, where he led corporate development, strategy, and alliance management. He also played a pivotal role in facilitating multiple partnerships for 2seventy, including with Novo Nordisk, Regeneron, National Resilience and JW Therapeutics. Previously, Fralish honed his skills as bluebird bio's Vice President of Oncology Corporate Development and Takeda's Head of Oncology Business Development. At Takeda, he oversaw strategic initiatives, as well as a multitude of transactions that created an innovative portfolio of cell therapies, advanced biologics and precision therapies.
"I am thrilled to join GlycoEra at this critical moment in the Company's growth," said Dr. Fralish. "GlycoEra's innovative biologics promise a potentially groundbreaking approach to treatment of diseases by leveraging a recombinant cell-based approach to create best-in-class protein degraders. As we expand our relationships with key investors and partners, grow our leadership team, and advance the science, I'm excited about GlycoEra's potential to transform treatment for patients."
(Press release/RAN)
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