GLYCODIAG

Their core work

GLYCODIAG is a French biotech SME working at the intersection of glycoscience and diagnostics — focused on carbohydrates (glycans) and the proteins that recognize them (lectins). Their project record shows expertise in two applied directions: engineering selective carbohydrate-based immunomodulators that target immune receptors (C-type lectins), and developing synthetic biology tools for protein-carbohydrate interactions. As an industrial partner in Marie Curie training networks, they bring practical glycan chemistry know-how into academic consortia, typically hosting or supervising early-stage researchers on applied problems. Their company name — GLYCODIAG — points to a commercial focus on glycan-based diagnostic products or assay tools, though project data alone does not confirm their full product portfolio.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

GLYCODIAG's first project (IMMUNOSHAPE, 2015–2018) was application-driven, aiming to develop carbohydrate molecules that modulate immune responses by targeting specific lectin receptors — a therapeutic immunology angle. Their second project (synBIOcarb, 2018–2023) shifted toward the underlying molecular engineering: how to design and build carbohydrate-binding proteins from scratch using synthetic biology, with tools like bioorthogonal ligation and GUV membrane models entering the picture. The trajectory moves from applied immunology toward foundational protein engineering and chemical biology of glycan recognition, suggesting the company is deepening its technical toolkit rather than narrowing to a single product line.

GLYCODIAG is moving from applying glycan chemistry in immunology toward building the engineering toolkit for designed carbohydrate-binding proteins — a direction that positions them as a potential platform provider for diagnostics, therapeutics, and synthetic biology applications.

How they like to work

GLYCODIAG has participated exclusively as a non-coordinating partner across both projects, both of which were large Marie Curie Innovative Training Networks with many academic and industrial members. With 29 unique consortium partners reached across just two projects, they consistently work inside large, multi-country consortia rather than small focused teams. This pattern — specialist industrial partner embedded in academically-led networks — suggests they are best approached as a technical contributor and industrial supervisor, not as a project leader.

GLYCODIAG has worked with 29 unique partners across 11 countries through two MSCA training networks, indicating broad European exposure despite a small project count. Their network is inherently academic in character — MSCA ITN consortia are dominated by universities and research institutes, with companies like GLYCODIAG as minority industrial nodes.

What sets them apart

GLYCODIAG occupies a rare niche: a commercial SME with genuine glycoscience depth in a field dominated by academic labs. While most carbohydrate chemistry expertise sits in universities, GLYCODIAG brings that knowledge into an industrial setting — which is precisely why MSCA consortia recruit them as industrial training partners. For a consortium builder, they offer the combination of specialist glycan/lectin expertise and SME-scale flexibility that large pharma or diagnostics partners cannot provide.

Highlights from their portfolio

• synBIOcarb
  The larger and more recent of the two projects (€274,802, running to 2023), it represents GLYCODIAG's most current technical work — engineering carbohydrate-binding proteins using synthetic biology, bioorthogonal chemistry, and GUV membrane models.
• IMMUNOSHAPE
  GLYCODIAG's earliest H2020 project, targeting C-type lectin receptors with selective carbohydrate immunomodulators — showing applied therapeutic intent that connects glycan chemistry directly to immune system control.