Proceeds from the financing to support development of first-in-class IgG4-targeted protein degrader program through clinical proof-of-concept and the continued advancement of the company’s novel precision immunology pipeline

London, Newton, MA, & Wädenswil, Switzerland – 27 May, 2025 – Novo Holdings, a leading life science investor, today announced that it has led an oversubscribed $130 million Series B financing round for GlycoEra AG, a biotechnology company pioneering best-in-class extracellular protein degraders for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. The funds will be used to advance the Company’s lead IgG4-targeted protein degrader through clinical data in patients, bring a second program to the clinic and further develop its differentiated pipeline of precision extracellular degraders in immunology and additional indications.

Novo Holdings participated as the lead investor in this financing round, along with new investors Catalio Capital Management, LifeArc Ventures, and QIA, and existing investors Sofinnova Partners, 5AM Ventures, Roche Ventures and Bristol Myers Squibb. Additional new investors who joined the syndicate include Agent Capital, MP Healthcare Venture Management (a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma) and Sixty Degree Capital. Max Klement, Partner on Novo Holdings’ Venture Investments team, will join GlycoEra’s Board of Directors to support the company through its evolution from a platform innovator to a clinical-stage biotech advancing multiple products across its pipeline.

GlycoEra’s proprietary platform enables the development of best-in-class degraders that target a broad spectrum of extracellular proteins. GlycoEra’s degraders are bispecific molecules that leverage a naturally occurring process to degrade proteins, achieving exquisitely precise and sustained removal of disease-causing proteins with unprecedented speed and depth while avoiding systemic off-target effects. Unlike traditional approaches that require multi-step chemical synthesis, GlycoEra’s degraders are produced through a streamlined, one-step recombinant process, offering high efficiency, modularity, and scalability.

GlycoEra’s lead program, GE8820, is designed to degrade pathogenic IgG4 autoantibodies with a speed, depth and high level of selectivity not attainable with current modalities and without immunosuppression. Pathogenic IgG4 is a driver of a variety of IgG4-autoimmune diseases such as pemphigus, muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) myasthenia gravis, primary membranous nephropathy and autoimmune encephalitis. Preclinically, GE8820 has demonstrated deep and sustained IgG4 depletion in various models, giving it broad potential across numerous disease settings. 

Max Klement, Partner, Novo Holdings said: “As lead investor, we are pleased to support GlycoEra’s transition into a clinical-stage company and help build a next-generation leader in autoimmune disease. The company has assembled a world-class management team and is advancing a first-in-class molecule with the potential to deliver highly selective, durable degradation of IgG4 for clinical benefit to patients living with IgG4-Autoimmune diseases. 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. We believe GlycoEra’s science offers a compelling approach to treating complex immunological conditions with greater precision and fewer tradeoffs.”

Ganesh Kaundinya, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, GlycoEra commented: “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. With this financing we plan to initiate first-in-human clinical trials for our lead program later this year. This financing is a strong validation of our science and platform, allowing us to accelerate our lead program into clinical development while advancing our robust pipeline of precision immunology medicines. We are grateful for the enthusiasm and support this prestigious group of investors has shown us, which reflect the progress of our differentiated protein degradation platform and our pipeline.”

Graziano Seghezzi, Partner, Sofinnova Partners added: “As a founding investor in GlycoEra, we have been consistently impressed with the team’s progress - advancing a truly unique platform and building a promising pipeline of protein degraders. We’re pleased to welcome new investors to further strengthen this syndicate and to continue our own commitment to the team and the science at GlycoEra. The additional capital will help bring best-in-class degraders into the clinic and one step closer to patients living with autoimmune diseases.”