Glytunes

What Glytunes does

Glytunes is a multidisciplinary research training consortium operating as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN) under EU Horizon 2020 grant agreement No 956758. The network was launched on 1 March 2021 with a total budget of €3,744,223.56 and coordinates 14 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) conducting doctoral projects across 11 beneficiary institutions and 9 partner organizations in Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, France, and Germany. Its scientific mission is the bioinspired development of glycomimetics that modulate the Siglec–sialoglycan axis, an emerging immunological target implicated in cancer, autoimmunity, and infectious disease.

The consortium's core technology platform integrates chemical synthesis, structural biology methods (NMR, cryo-EM, X-ray crystallography, SAXS), chemo-enzymatic glycan production, biophysical characterization, and immunological profiling to design and evaluate synthetic glycomimetics targeting Siglec-mediated immune responses. Research is organized into four work packages covering sialylated ligand production, 3D structural depiction of glycan–protein complexes, immunological studies of Siglec engagement, and glycomimetics development. Outputs are disseminated through peer-reviewed publications in journals including Nature Communications, Chemical Communications, ACS Central Science, Advanced Science, and Angewandte Chemie, as well as annual consortium meetings and mid-term review milestones with the European Research Executive Agency.

Glytunes does not operate a commercial business model. Its sole revenue stream is the EU Horizon 2020 grant, which under Marie Skłodowska-Curie rules funds 36-month ESR employment contracts (living and mobility allowances), research costs, training activities, and consortium management handled via partner ALTA Srlu. The project's "customers" in a functional sense are the 14 recruited PhD researchers and the participating institutions; outputs target academic publication, training, and eventual translation into diagnostics and therapeutics rather than near-term product revenue.

Name

Glytunes

Legal name

GLYTUNES

Website

https://glytunes.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Glytunes is an EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network coordinating 14 doctoral researchers across 11 European institutions to develop glycomimetics that modulate the Siglec–sialoglycan axis for immune and infectious disease applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Glycoscience Research and Doctoral Training

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Preclinical, Toxicology & Translational Science Staffing FSP (HLAGAOAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Training & Competency Programs for GxP Compliance (HLAGAKAM), Bioinformatics, Multi-Omics Data Analysis & Interpretation Services (HLAGANAI), Specialty & Biomarker Laboratory Services (Immunoassays/Flow/Cytometry) (HLAGAEAB)

Keywords

• Glycomimetics development
• Glycobiotechnology research
• Siglec immunology research
• Doctoral training network
• Carbohydrate chemistry research

Headquarters

HQ city

Naples

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. EU Horizon 2020 Research Grant: GLYTUNES is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 956758. Total budget is €3,744,223.56. Funding covers ESR salaries (36-month contracts with living allowances plus mobility allowances), research costs, training activities, consortium management, and dissemination activities.
2. Marie Skłodowska-Curie ITN Fellowships: ESRs receive contractually employed positions for 36 months covered under the related national social security scheme. Monthly living allowance plus mobility allowance compliant with EC Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions ITN regulations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

GLYTUNES is an Innovative Training Network (ITN) providing 14 doctoral research projects (PhD fellowships) for Early Stage Researchers across 11 European beneficiary institutions. The programme focuses on understanding and exploiting the Siglecs-glycans cross-talk through multidisciplinary research combining carbohydrate chemistry, structural biology (NMR, cryo-EM, X-ray, SAXS), biophysics, immunology, and computational methods to develop novel glycomimetics for diagnostics and therapeutics against immune and infectious diseases. ESRs receive 36-month employment contracts with living allowances plus mobility allowances under Marie Skłodowska-Curie ITN rules.

Product overview

GLYTUNES is an Innovative Training Network (ITN) funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 Programme (Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 956758). It is not a commercial product or software platform but rather a research consortium offering 14 doctoral research projects (PhD fellowships) for early stage researchers (ESRs). The network focuses on understanding and exploiting the Siglecs-glycans cross-talk through a multidisciplinary approach combining chemical, biological, biophysical, and immunological research strategies to develop novel diagnostics and therapeutics against immune and infectious diseases. The consortium involves leading scientists from academia and industry, providing training in carbohydrate chemistry, glycoimmunology, tumor immunology, microbiology, drug design, NMR spectroscopy, cryo-EM, X-ray crystallography, and structural biology. The 14 ESR projects range from ESR01 (Full characterization of bacterial sialylated envelope components) through ESR14 (Sialic acid biosynthesis inhibitors), organized into four work packages: WP1 (Production of sialylated ligands), WP2 (Depiction of 3D complexes), WP3 (Immunological studies), and WP4 (Development of novel glycomimetics).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GLYTUNES Doctoral Training Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• 14 ESRs trained across 36-month doctoral programmes
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• University of Naples Federico II (UNINA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Consortium beneficiary hosting ESR01 (Marta Tiemblo Martín) and ESR12 (Tania Gerpe Amor). Primary supervisor: Alba Silipo. ESRs enrolled in PhD programme at University of Naples Federico II.
• Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Consortium beneficiary hosting ESR02 (Manasik Gumah Adam Ali). Primary supervisor: Nathalie Juge. ESRs enrolled in PhD programme at University of East Anglia.
• CIC bioGUNE (Center for Cooperative Research in Biosciences)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Consortium beneficiary hosting ESR03 (Klaudia Sobczak). Primary supervisor: June Ereño-Orbea. ESRs enrolled in PhD programme at Universidad del País Vasco.
• VU University Medical Center (VUMC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Consortium beneficiary hosting ESR04 (Fabio Balzarini) and ESR13 (Magali Coccimiglio). Primary supervisors: Yvette van Kooyk and Fabrizio Chiodo. ESRs enrolled in PhD programme at VU University Medical Center.
• University of Florence - Magnetic Resonance Center (UNIFI-CERM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Consortium beneficiary hosting ESR05 (Luis Padilla Cortés). Primary supervisor: Marco Fragai. ESRs enrolled in PhD programme at University of Florence.
• CNRS-IBS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique / Institut de Biologie Structurale)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Consortium beneficiary hosting ESR06 (Jahnavi Jangala). Primary supervisor: Irina Gutsche. ESRs enrolled in PhD programme at University Grenoble-Alps.
• Radboud University (RAD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Consortium beneficiary hosting ESR07 (Venetia Psomiadou) and ESR14 (Matteo Calzari). Primary supervisor: Thomas Boltje. ESRs enrolled in PhD programme at Radboud University.
• ATLAS Molecular PharmacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Consortium beneficiary (SME) hosting ESR08 (Riccardo Scarin). Primary supervisor: Oscar Millet. ESRs enrolled in PhD programme at Universidad del País Vasco.
• ICENI Diagnostics LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Consortium beneficiary (SME) hosting ESR09 (Iakovia Ttoffi). Primary supervisor: Rob Field. ESRs enrolled in PhD programme at University of Manchester.
• GlycoUniverse GMBH & Co. KGaAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Consortium beneficiary (SME) hosting ESR10 (Yan-Ting Kuo). Primary supervisor: Kim Le Mai Hoang. ESRs enrolled in PhD programme at Freie Universität Berlin.
• Giotto Biotech SRLcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Consortium beneficiary (SME) hosting ESR11 (Giulia Gheorghita). Primary supervisor: Tommaso Martelli. ESRs enrolled in PhD programme at University of Florence.
• GlycopediasupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Partner organization complementing consortium beneficiaries by providing training and secondment opportunities. Main contact: Serge Perez.
• University Grenoble-Alps (UGA)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Partner organization providing PhD programme enrollment (for ESR06) and secondment opportunities. Main contact: Irina Gutsche.
• University of East Anglia (UEA)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Partner organization providing PhD programme enrollment (for ESR02) and secondment opportunities. Main contact: Nathalie Juge.
• Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Partner organization providing PhD programme enrollment (for ESR03, ESR08) and secondment opportunities. Main contact: José Luis Martin.
• University of Manchester (UMAN)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Partner organization providing PhD programme enrollment (for ESR09) and secondment opportunities. Main contact: Rob Field.
• Freie Universität Berlin (FUB)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Partner organization providing PhD programme enrollment (for ESR10) and secondment opportunities. Main contact: Peter H. Seeberger.
• ALTA SrlusupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Partner organization providing project management, training support, and organizing consortium meetings. Scientist in charge: Laura Maccari.
• CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Partner organization providing research training and secondment opportunities. Main contact: Sonsoles Martín Santamaría.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• iTeos Therapeutics: Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing therapeutics targeting the tumor microenvironment. Overlapping immunology focus with GLYTUNES' WP3 immunological-studies work package, though at a more advanced clinical stage.
• ProZyme: Provider of glycan analytical reagents, standards, and glycosylation analysis services. Functions as an enabling tools/infrastructure provider adjacent to GLYTUNES' glycomimetics and sialylated-ligand analytical work.

Emerging players

• Bright Peak Therapeutics: Early-stage company engineering cytokines and immunotherapies using chemical biology approaches. Comparable to GLYTUNES in chemical-biology toolkit for modulating immune responses via glycan-receptor interactions.
• Alethia Biotherapeutics: Preclinical biotech developing Siglec-3 (CD33)-targeted antibodies for acute myeloid leukemia. Directly addresses a specific Siglec target relevant to GLYTUNES' research scope.
• Gliknik: Privately held biotech developing glycomimetic and immunomodulatory therapeutics. Comparable glycomimetics focus to GLYTUNES' WP4 glycomimetic drug-design work-package output.

Direct peers

• GlycoMimetics: Publicly traded glycomimetics company developing small-molecule drugs that mimic the structural features of carbohydrates. Directly comparable to GLYTUNES' glycomimetics design and synthesis efforts targeting Siglec-sialoglycan interactions.
• Cantargia: Clinical-stage biotech developing antibody therapeutics against Siglec-6 (IL-1RAP) for cancer and autoimmune disease. Comparable target family (Siglecs) with overlapping therapeutic indications to GLYTUNES' research.
• Palleon Pharmaceuticals: Clinical-stage biotech focused on Siglec biology and sialoglycan-based therapeutics for cancer and inflammatory disease. Direct overlap with GLYTUNES' core Siglec-sialoglycan axis platform.

Broad incumbents

• Innate Pharma: Public clinical-stage immuno-oncology company with Siglec-7 and Siglec-9 antibody programs. Broader portfolio but with meaningful overlap in Siglec-axis therapeutic development versus GLYTUNES' discovery research.
• Genentech (Roche): Large pharmaceutical company with significant Siglec-15 antibody program (sugemalimab) and broad immuno-oncology portfolio. Operates as a broad incumbent in the Siglec therapeutic space where GLYTUNES conducts pre-competitive research.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/glytunes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/glytunes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Glytunes