Stark Lab researchers have developed a protein therapeutic that disables an immune “brake” engaged by cancer cells via cell surface sugars called glycans. A study published in Nature Biotechnology shows their multifunctional molecules, called AbLecs, can block glycan-mediated immune suppression and boost anti-cancer immune responses across multiple cancers. Combining a tumor-targeting antibody with a lectin, or glycan-binding receptor, AbLecs are now in translational development at Valora Therapeutics, co-founded by Stark.