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A New Approach to Measuring the Sugar Code in Health and Disease

Precyose® has developed a highly selective nanoparticle platform to differentiate pathogenic versus benign glycan patterns on key antigens with high precision (1,2). When a target glycan is present, Precyose® nanoparticles bind and emit a measurable fluorescent signal. The assay is offered in ELISA formats widely available at most routine clinical laboratories.

1. Advanced Functional Materials, 2020, 30, 2002298.
2. Materials Today Chemistry, 2022, 24, 100939.

Key features include:

  • High analytical sensitivity
    and selectivity
  • Chemically stable
    and reusable
  • Compatible with standard
    laboratory instruments

This combination of molecular recognition and nanoscience creates a versatile glycan recognition platform with applications spanning disease detection and monitoring, biomarker discovery, separation and biomanufacturing.

The technology underpinning Precyose was featured in the Cancer Revolution exhibition at the Science Museum in London, October 2021 to March 2022.

Current Target Markets:

Prostate Cancer

Our most advanced diagnostic application, supported initially by Prostate Cancer UK and now by Cancer Research Horizons. Laboratory studies using control samples have demonstrated the assay’s precision in identifying prostate cancer specific glycans. The PSA-based prostate cancer screening & monitoring market is worth approximately $5B.

Ovarian Cancer

A second diagnostic assay is being developed within a €13 million EU-funded project, with clinical validation to take place across five European countries starting in September 2026. The ovarian and colon cancer screening is worth approximately $3B.

How Precyose® fits in these markets

Prostate Cancer

Current PSA testing detects prostate cancer but often struggles to identify which men have clinically significant disease.

Precyose® enables:

  • Better identification of aggressive disease
  • More informed treatment decisions
  • Reduced unnecessary procedures and interventions
  • Improved patient outcomes
  • More efficient use of healthcare resources

Ovarian Cancer

Current biomarkers such as CA125 lack the sensitivity and specificity needed for reliable early detection and patient stratification.

Precyose® enables:

  • Earlier identification of women at highest risk
  • Earlier clinical intervention
  • Improved survival potential through stage shift
  • Reduced treatment burden and healthcare costs
  • Better quality of life for patients and families

Precision Glycan Recognition

Our technology achieves superselective glycan recognition, distinguishing between closely related structures such as stachyose and raffinose, which differ by just one galactose unit.

This level of molecular discrimination is important because disease can alter the glycan structures carried by proteins. By recognising these disease-associated glycoforms, Precyose® aims to enable more precise disease detection and stratification.

In prostate cancer, changes in PSA glycosylation, including altered sialylation, have been associated with aggressive disease. Precyose uses glycan-selective nanoparticles to recognise these differences and differentiate aggressive from indolent disease.

Stachyose-binding synthetic receptors show strong recognition of the target glycan while discriminating against closely related carbohydrate structures.

Data generated using surface plasmon resonance (SPR).

Future opportunities

Beyond oncology, Precyose®’s adaptable nanoparticle recognition system offers broad potential for biomarker discovery and disease detection. Because glycans play essential roles in biological processes and their structures change during disease, the same technology could be applied to:

  • Detection of glycan changes linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
  • Identification of glycan-based risk markers for cardiovascular disease
  • Rapid pathogen sensing and biodefense monitoring through glycan profiling
  • Quality control and characterization of glycoproteins in biomanufacturing processes
  • Discovery and validation of new glycan biomarkers across diverse disease areas

Together, these opportunities highlight Precyose®’s promise as a cross-sector enabling platform for glycan detection, separation, and discovery.