earticle

영어

Glycans are important components of many biotherapeutic agents, ranging from natural products to molecules based on rational design to recombinant glycoproteins1,2. The glycan components of these agents determine their biological activity and therapeutic efficacy. There are increasingly strong drivers for the development of improved approaches for production of therapeutics with enhanced efficacy and stability. The ultimate goal of our research project, supported by Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy, is to develop next generation therapeutics through glycan remodeling based on glycomics analysis3, the systematic elucidation of the structure and function of “glycome (complete sets of glycans)” on bio-pharmaceuticals. The project was initially composed of five subprojects; (1) Subproject I: Development of anti-lymphoma therapeutic antibodies by glycoengineering (Mogam/Greencross), (2) Subproject II: Development of HBV therapeutic vaccines by glycan remodeling (Dobeel/Neurotech), (3) Subproject III: Development of therapeutic enzymes for fabry disease by glycan addition (ISU Abxis), (4) Subproject IV: Development of hyaluron derivatives by glycan modification (LG Life Sciences), and (5) Subproject V: Development of glycoexpression systems for glycan remodeling (KRIBB). The successful achievements of the project will surely upgrade the usage potential of these molecules, providing routes to better-targeted, more bioactive drugs with reduced off-target side effects and expanded applications.