Developing small-molecule drugs to block disease-driving sugar production in cells
Complex sugars called glycans help cells communicate and shape immune recognition. In inherited disorders such as Sanfilippo syndrome, failure to break down certain glycans causes them to accumulate inside cells, leading to progressive dysfunction and irreversible damage.
Anomer Bio is developing synthetic sugar drugs designed to block the production of disease-driving glycans. It uses computational models to design and screen these small molecules, initially targeting Sanfilippo syndrome, a rare childhood disease.
What stands out about Anomer Bio
Anomer Bio has progressed from computational screening hits to drug candidates validated in vitro.
Anomer Bio closed a financing round in May 2026 with Haatch, SOSV and 2048 Ventures.
Anomer Bio secured Innovate UK grants and a collaborative academic grant.
Received SOSV funding through IndieBio and spent three months in New York working with its startup programme.
Founders Sophie James and Marcos Burger Ramos completed Barts-linked PhDs in cancer drug resistance and the tumour microenvironment, respectively.
Anomer Bio won a pitching competition in Boston with 2048 Ventures.
Co-founder Marcos Burger Ramos earned an MChem in Chemistry at the University of Oxford, studying there from 2016 to 2020.
Scientific co-founder Oliver Pearce is a CRUK Fellow and Barts Cancer Institute group leader researching the tumour extracellular matrix.
Anomer reports collaborating with Oliver Pearce's Barts Cancer Institute group on glycan-targeting interventions in breast-cancer research.
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