By Clinical Research News Staff  

December 3, 2025 | Glycans are the complex sugar chains found at abnormally high levels on the surface of cancer cells—and one of the toughest challenges in cancer treatment. Michael Demetriou, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurology, microbiology and molecular genetics at the UC Irvine School of Medicine and a UCI Health neurologist, and his team have succeeded in targeting tumor-associated glycans. They developed glycan-dependent T cell recruiters (GlyTRs), which represent a first-of-its-kind approach that bypasses traditional antibody mechanisms to attack cancer’s sugar-coated armor. 

GlyTRs use lectins—sugar-binding proteins—to target glycans via a “Velcro-like” high-avidity binding mechanism (Cell, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.09.001). Unlike conventional immunotherapies, GlyTRs can recognize these sugar structures while sparing normal tissue. 

GlyTR Therapeutics—co-founded by Demetriou—is now preparing for two first-in-human phase 1 basket trials. With support from the National Cancer Insititute Experimental Therapeutics Program, the first trial is expected to begin in 2027 at UC Irvine’s Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and will evaluate GlyTR1 in patients with metastatic or treatment-resistant solid tumors. The second trial, backed with a $4.6 million grant from the California Insitute for Regenerative Medicine, will test GlyTR2-based CAR T cells. 

Both studies will enroll patients with different types of solid cancers that are refractory or metastatic. The studies will also employ a standard 3+3 dose-escalation design where the first group of three patients is given a low starting dose, followed by a higher dose level in the next three-patient cohort if no toxicity is seen. The primary focus will be on patient safety, as Demetriou explained, “There’s always the possibility that glycan expression happens somewhere we don’t know about that could cause some toxicity.” 

The immunotherapeutics will be co-developed with a companion diagnostic test, as recommended by regulatory authorities. 

To read the full story by Deborah Borfitz, please head over to Bio-IT World News.