GlycanAge secures $4.2M to revolutionize personalized preventative care
GlycanAge, a biotech startup pioneering the field of glycan biomarkers, announced the successful completion of its $4.2 million seed funding round, led by the Bulgaian VC LAUNCHub Ventures and UK-based deep-tech fund Kadmos Capital. This marks a substantial leap forward in the company’s quest to redefine personalized preventative healthcare.
There are various HealthTech projects out there. GlycanAge is active in the field of glycobiology. Never heard that term? With the advancement of various technologies, research in that realm significantly helps predict diseases, guide interventions, and tailor therapies.
GlycanAge in a nutshell
Generally, aging is measured by chronological age, which doesn’t accurately reflect our biological condition. This explains why some individuals remain highly active in their late 80s, while others struggle with basic physical activities. Aging is an ongoing process that starts before birth and continues throughout life, beginning at a molecular level and leading to changes in skin texture, hair color, physical strength, and disease risk. The rate of these changes is influenced more by lifestyle, diet, genetics, and other factors rather than by chronological age, a concept scientists describe as our biological age.
At its core, GlycanAge is a test that measures your biological age, providing insight into how your lifestyle and environment are influencing your body’s aging process beyond what the calendar might suggest. The project is set to establish glycomics as a pivotal technology in disease detection, patient stratification, and monitoring therapy responses.
Born out of the desire to commercialize more than 20 years of research in the field of glycobiology and $40 million in grant funding, GlycanAge offers a cutting-edge biological age test that utilizes glycan biomarkers to enable early prevention strategies for both consumers and healthcare professionals.
Tracking your biological age. How does it work?
Aging can be characterized by the accumulation of damage in the body over time. This damage is often exacerbated by long-term over-activation of the immune system, leading to various health issues and a decline in bodily functions. GlycanAge leverages this understanding by focusing on the biological markers that indicate this damage, offering users a glimpse into their true biological age—a potentially different figure from their chronological age.
With GlycanAge, users are sent a test kit directly to their home, which includes everything needed for a simple finger prick test. This method of sample collection is designed to be quick and easy, with additional resources like instructional videos available to guide users through the process.
Once the sample is collected, it’s sent back to GlycanAge using the provided return postage. The sample undergoes multiple tests in the laboratory to ensure an accurate measure of biological age is obtained, a process that takes approximately 3 weeks. This thorough analysis is crucial for providing the most precise biological age measurement available. Upon completion of the analysis, users are notified via email, and results are made accessible through a personalized dashboard.
Users are encouraged to complete their profile details on the GlycanAge platform after purchasing the test. This information aids the GlycanAge team in offering bespoke advice, pinpointing what influences the results, and suggesting areas for improvement during an individual consultation with a specialist once the results are ready.
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GlycanAge: What comes next?
“As scientific research in age-related diseases progresses, the fields of diagnostic and preventive medicine appear very promising in combating such diseases and improving health outcomes. Key trends, such as the widespread adoption of biomarkers and D2C testing, along with the application of AI and advanced analytics, provide an opportunity for a significant impact on the overall health status of billions of people,” says Lyuben Belov, Managing Partner at LAUNCHub Ventures.
For the HealthTech startup, the newly acquired capital will be instrumental in the strategic shift from the longevity space to the broader diagnostics market. With the goal of developing disease-specific prognostic biomarkers, this funding will enable GlycanAge to establish a clear regulatory strategy and product pipeline.
This endeavor is further bolstered by significant grant support, including a $140,000 grant from Mubadala’s accelerator program HUB71, and an additional $220,000 from an EU AI grant. The EU funding is specifically aimed at bridging the innovative gap between diagnostics and artificial intelligence, highlighting GlycanAge’s commitment to integrating cutting-edge technology in its approach.
