PRESS RELEASE
Sugar is life
GlycoUniverse successfully launched at Biotechpark Berlin-Buch
<Berlin, 23rd October 2013> GlycoUniverse GmbH & Co KGaA is a technology spin-off
of the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces headed by Prof. Dr. Peter
Seeberger in Potsdam-Golm. Registered on 10th October 2013, the company deals with
the automated development and synthetic production of complex sugars and is
seeking customers and collaboration with leading scientific institutes in Europe and
world-wide.
It is an established fact that complex sugars are equal in importance to genes and proteins.
Carbohydrates play an important role in human health. They have been described as the
"third language of life". GlycoUniverse, based at at the Biotechpark Buch in Berlin, is all set to
take the development of sugar research to a whole new level.
Earlier the synthesis of complex carbohydrates used to take months or years but now with
GlycoUniverse's state-of-the-art oligosaccharide synthesizer-GLYCONEER®, the same can
be completed in a matter of days or even hours. This fully automated device for the
development of carbohydrate structures is at the heart of GlycoUniverse. The associated
opportunities for applications that this invention brings in all areas of life sciences - and
particularly in the field of human medicine, can be described as a huge leap in scientific
progress.
The science of carbohydrates (glycomics or glycosciences) is still a young discipline but with
enormous potential. Prof Dr Peter Seeberger, inventor of the oligosaccharide synthesizer
says, ""Commercial availability of synthesis instruments and building blocks that are required
to assemble complex glycans addresses a major need for academic and industrial scientists
alike. The synthetic sugars the GLYCONEER can produce are central to developing novel
vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics. To see a commercial product after 15 years of
development time is very pleasing."
Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Claney Lebev Pereira says, " Our mission is three-fold : Firstly, we
provide enabling technology, tools and services around the GLYCONEER ® to research
institutes world-wide in all fields of life sciences to significantly expand knowledge in
glycomics. Secondly, we offer ready to use building blocks which will accelerate the discovery
and development of next generation products for areas such as health, agriculture,
environmental research and material sciences; and finally, we offer customized glycoconjugates for research institutes and R&D departments of industry."
Comprising a compact team of international scientists, GlycoUniverse has at its helm cofounder and CEO Hinrich Schliephack."To be able to roll out the first small series of
GLYCONEERS® and to provide them with all necessary services to an international group of
researchers requires additional capital. That is why we are hosting a shareholder meeting
next week to decide on the increase in capital. We are looking for entrepreneurs who have a
strategic interest in advancing glycomics and are willing to invest in a start-up company with
outstanding potential."
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Already isolated and synthetic carbohydrates play a prominent role in the research and
development of diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics against infectious diseases.
GlycoUniverse's path-breaking innovation holds tremendous value creation potential for the
life sciences and its related industries.
The oligosaccharide synthesizer will enable chemists and non-chemists to make and deliver
their own carbohydrate structures in a fraction of the time previously required for the process.
For further information, contact
GlycoUniverse GmbH & Co KGaA
Hinrich Schliephack
Building D 79
Robert-Roessle-Strasse 10
13125 Berlin
Germany
www.glycouniverse.de
email: hinrich.schliephack@glycouniverse.de
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Editors Note: GlycoUniverse GmbH & Co KGaA is a technology spin-off from the department of
Biomolecular Systems at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces which is headed by
Prof. Dr. Peter Seeberger. Entry in the commercial register took place on 10 October 2013. Cofounders of the company are Hinrich Schliephack(CEO) and Dr. Claney Lebev Pereira (CSO). The
Supervisory Board includes Axel Bode, Dr. Wolfgang Heimberg and Prof. Dr. Detlev Ganten.
Headquarters: Biotechpark Berlin-Buch