GlycoEra AG today announced the appointment of Tanmoy Ganguly, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Ganguly brings nearly 25 years of experience in biopharmaceutical research and development across a variety of therapeutic areas including autoimmune diseases, inflammation, and oncology, among others. He will lead GlycoEra’s efforts to develop novel therapeutics targeting degradation of circulating and membrane proteins that cause disease, using the company’s proprietary CustomGlycan platform.
CustomGlycan enables the rational engineering of glycan structures at specific sites within recombinant proteins. GlycoEra’s approach leverages naturally occurring scavenging receptors that bind and eliminate specific glycan-containing proteins for degradation. The platform’s ability to degrade circulating and membrane proteins allows GlycoEra to pursue multiple novel targets for disease intervention, including hard to drug proteins, multimeric aggregates or membrane proteins that are conformationally versatile.
“CustomGlycan enables custom design and development of unique and homogeneous glycans on proteins,” said Dr. Ganguly. “I am eager to assume scientific leadership of the company and to partner with an impressive group of proven drug developers, during this pivotal period of growth, as we advance a range of assets toward clinical studies for the ultimate benefit of patients.”
Dr. Ganguly brings deep experience leading R&D teams across multiple functional areas, with a proven track record in drug development and in translating platform programs into clinical candidates. He joins GlycoEra from Evelo Biosciences, where he served as Vice President, leading pharmacology, research analytics and bioinformatics. In his work at Evelo on its SINTAX platform, Dr. Ganguly advanced the first extracellular nanoparticle product – EDP2939 – towards clinical development. Prior to Evelo, Dr. Ganguly spent more than 11 years at Momenta Pharmaceuticals, where he led a team of scientists focused on the discovery and development of autoimmune, inflammation, and oncology product candidates. Before joining Momenta, Dr. Ganguly held a variety of research positions at BD Biosciences, UCB Pharma, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and Helios Pharmaceuticals.
“The breadth and depth of Dr. Ganguly’s expertise in lead generation, optimization, pharmacology, and translational research will serve GlycoEra well as we build the next stage of the company,” said Ganesh V. Kaundinya, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of GlycoEra. “We continue to build the leadership infrastructure as a critical component of the organization to cultivate a high-value pipeline of medicines in the protein degradation space.”
GlycoEra announced the appointment of Dr. Kaundinya as President and CEO in May 2022. The addition of Dr. Kaundinya and Dr. Ganguly strengthens a leadership team comprised of seasoned biotechnology executives, including Amir Faridmoayer, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer, and Dominique Sirena, Ph.D., Chief Manufacturing Officer.
GlycoEra AG is a biotechnology company building a high-value pipeline of medicines based on deep expertise in glycobiology and protein degradation. GlycoEra’s innovative CustomGlycan platform enables the design, engineering, and development of novel biologics for a broad range of indications. GlycoEra is advancing a range of assets toward human clinical studies. The company raised more than $49 million (CHF 45 million) in a 2021 Series A financing round co-led by 5AM Ventures, Sofinnova Partners, and Roche Venture fund. GlycoEra is based in Schlieren, Switzerland and Boston, Mass., USA. For further information, please visit www.glycoera.com.
