Sussex Research Laboratories Inc. (Sussex) and the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada’s Institute for Biological Sciences (NRC-IBS) announced today the formation of a strategic research and development agreement designed to advance certain technologies that offer unique opportunities to exploit carbohydrate-based molecules for drug discovery.
Sussex Research is expanding its glycoproducts commercialization efforts in the area of synthetic oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates by forging a strategic alliance with NRC-IBS. The company will collaborate directly with Dr. Dennis Whitfield of the Glycoconjugates and Tumour Immunology Group at NRC-IBS. Dr. Whitfield is a leader in the development of innovative approaches to carbohydrate-based synthesis. The Whitfield lab focuses on design and development of novel approaches to the synthesis of oligosaccharides for use in the development of carbohydrate-based vaccines and glycotherapeutics.
A major objective of the NRC-Sussex agreement is development of new methodologies suitable for synthesizing specific glycoforms for glycoconjugation of biological molecules. Initial focus is on synthetic strategies for glycosylated amino acids and glycopeptides for use in the preparation and subsequent clinical testing of synthetic vaccines, glycosylated peptides and proteins.
About the NRC Institute for Biological Sciences: The NRC Institute for Biological Sciences in Ottawa is a team of leading life sciences researchers who are committed to making breakthrough discoveries in immunochemistry and neurobiology and moving subsequent technologies into the marketplace.
