Newton, MA — GlycoEra AG, a biotechnology company at the forefront of precision immunology, announced that it has raised $130 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing round to advance its pioneering pipeline of extracellular protein degraders, including its lead program targeting IgG4-driven autoimmune diseases.
The funding round was led by Novo Holdings, with significant participation from both new and existing investors, including Catalio Capital Management, LifeArc Ventures, and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). Returning investors include Sofinnova Partners, 5AM Ventures, Roche Ventures, and Bristol Myers Squibb, among others.
Advancing Transformative Therapies in Autoimmune Disease
The Series B proceeds will support GlycoEra’s lead asset GE8820, an IgG4-targeted protein degrader, through first-in-human clinical trials. The funding will also accelerate a second program into the clinic and further expand the company’s precision immunology pipeline.
“Our lead program, which has demonstrated deep and rapid IgG4 degradation preclinically, presents an opportunity to deliver transformative therapies to patients suffering from multiple autoimmune diseases,” said Ganesh Kaundinya, Ph.D., President and CEO of GlycoEra. “This financing is a strong validation of our science and platform, allowing us to accelerate our lead program into clinical development.”
GE8820 is designed to selectively degrade pathogenic IgG4 autoantibodies without inducing systemic immunosuppression—a major limitation of current therapies. Diseases potentially targeted include pemphigus, MuSK myasthenia gravis, primary membranous nephropathy, and autoimmune encephalitis.
A Platform Built for Speed, Selectivity, and Scalability
GlycoEra’s proprietary technology enables the development of bispecific degraders that target a wide range of extracellular proteins. Unlike conventional small-molecule degraders, GlycoEra’s biologic-based degraders leverage natural protein clearance mechanisms and are produced using a streamlined, single-step recombinant process—improving selectivity, manufacturing efficiency, and scalability.
“GE8820’s ability to rapidly and deeply degrade pathogenic extracellular proteins with high specificity offers a potentially paradigm-shifting opportunity for the treatment of multiple autoimmune diseases,” said Max Klement, Partner at Novo Holdings. “With deep expertise in precision medicine, GlycoEra’s management team is well-positioned to redefine therapies in immunology.”
New Board Appointments and Investor Enthusiasm
As part of the financing, GlycoEra has appointed Max Klement (Novo Holdings), Matthew Hobson (Catalio Capital Management), and Sohaib Mir (LifeArc Ventures) to its board of directors.
“As a founding investor, we’ve been consistently impressed by GlycoEra’s progress,” said Graziano Seghezzi, Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners. “This additional capital will help bring best-in-class degraders into the clinic and one step closer to patients living with autoimmune diseases.”
With this new investment and a strengthened board, GlycoEra is positioned to make significant strides in developing next-generation therapies that target disease at the source—offering new hope for patients with chronic and hard-to-treat autoimmune conditions.
