Zacharon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biotechnology company founded to exploit opportunities to discover and develop first in class oncology drugs that target glycans. With our technology and glycobiology expertise, Zacharon has the opportunity to dominate the field of glycan-targeted drug discovery.

Disease is caused by a break down of factors that regulate cell behavior. For example, in cancer, there are errors in the regulation of cell division which leads to the growth of a tumor. Four major classes of molecules regulate cell behavior: proteins, nucleic acids (DNA), lipids, and glycans. Drugs work by altering the function of one of these classes of regulators.

The pharmaceutical industry is largely focused on drugs that target proteins (kinases, protease, ion channels, GPCRs, etc.). Proteins are the largest class of drug targets, and they were the first to be clearly understood. Therefore, the pharmaceutical industry has been built around the expertise and methods for developing drugs that target proteins. This focus has left many opportunities for glycan-targeting drugs.

Ample scientific evidence has shown that glycans are excellent drug targets; however, few companies have the expertise or the technology to develop drugs that target glycans. Zacharon’s unique expertise in this field and our proprietary technology enable us to be the first company to apply small molecule high-throughput screening to the discovery of glycan inhibitors.

Zacharon has an opportunity to develop breakthrough “first-in-class” oncology drugs. Our Discovery team screens for lead compounds, the best of which become drug candidates. Our Development team then oversees the preclinical and early clinical studies that indicate which candidates will be developed for regulatory approval. Zacharon intends to align itself with larger pharmaceutical companies for the later phases of drug development (Phase IIb and Phase III clinical trials) and for drug marketing.