For George
-
A President's Perspective
Bruker acquisition of GlycoPath
Dear MUSC Family,
For over 200 years, MUSC embraced new and bold ideas in order to drive positive change for our patients and community. I am proud of every milestone we achieve together, made possible by our culture of innovation and commitment to continually lean into the future. In this context, I am excited to share the MUSC story behind GlycoPath Inc.’s recent acquisition by Bruker Corporation.
Our ability to nurture early concepts and turn them into something potentially transformative is truly incredible. Established in 2019, GlycoPath Inc. is a biotech start-up founded by MUSC researchers that is changing the biomarker identification landscape using GlycoTyper, a patent pending technology that enables the detection of biomarkers on thousands of different proteins at once as opposed to just a few at a time. Biomarkers help us to predict the presence or development of a disease, and GlycoTyper’s more efficient detection process holds great potential across drug development, clinical diagnostics, and basic and translational research applications.
While the GlycoTyper was once just an early idea in a lab, it has since grown with the help of our growing institutional resources which now include the Zucker Institute of Commercialization, 1824 Health Ventures (an early start up investment entity managed by the MUSC Foundation), and most recently Blue Sky labs (our new incubation space for start-ups and early-stage companies focusing on life sciences and medical research). By independently evaluating and managing the intellectual assets owned and generated by MUSC, including assisting with technology licensing, research collaborations, and development of start-up ventures, these assets are key aids for MUSC innovators.
This technology has been adapted into new tools, such as the GlycoFibroTyper. The GlycoFibroTyper detects specially modified antibodies in patient blood samples and uses these measurements as predictors for liver fibrosis – a condition in which an invasive liver biopsy is the current gold standard for detection.
The story of GlycoPath Inc. is one of innovation coming to life – a concept grew into a start-up, and with the recent acquisition, it is well on its way to making a real difference for patients in the future.
This is what we do at MUSC. We cultivate innovation to bring scientific breakthroughs to the world. The potential of an idea will never be known unless we explore it, which is why we are committed to enabling curiosity and creativity. I am excited to see how the GlycoTyper technology evolves as its research continues with Bruker Corporation in our new Blue Sky Labs.
Congratulations to GlycoPath Inc.’s founders, Anand Mehta, PhD; Peggi Angel, PhD; and Rick Drake, PhD, on this accomplishment, and thank you to all our researchers, students, and innovators across MUSC. Your ideas are the future of patient care, and I can’t wait to see their impact on the world.
Yours in service,
David J. Cole, M.D., FACS
MUSC President
