Objective
Eye cataracts, leading to the loss of vision present a major problem for the aging population. This is currently cured by surgical procedure which requires a viscoelastic High Molecular Weight (HMW) product of Ophthalmic Viscosurgical Device to fill the space in the eye created during the surgery and to protect the healthy endothelial cells. Due to the growing elderly population, this market segment is expected to grow at least 7% per year and will reach €80 Mn in the EU and €240 Mn worldwide by 2014. The market need for (HMW) products is currently served by Hyaluronic acid (HA) and cheaper alternatives derived from cellulose with properties inferior to HA. The manufacturers have currently to rely on few suppliers of the high-quality raw materials i.e. roosters bred on a special diet. The animal nature of the raw materials makes the SMEs particularly vulnerable in light of a bird flu outbreak, creating the threat of losing up to an entire year supply of the raw material with a single outbreak in the region. In addition, using raw materials of animal origin in humans requires compliance with existing EU regulations (EC 1774/2002 and Directive 90/426/EEC, and also Directive 86/609/EEC, 3 R’s Declaration, and REACH). Hence EU SMEs such as ourselves realize that we should switch to a non-animal source of HMW substance, as a substitute to rooster combs originating HA. The main objective of the OkraVision project is to substitute animal based production of HMW HA with a cheaper and non-animal HMW substance: Rhamnopyranose–Galactopyranose–Galactopyranosyluronic Acid (RGGA) from the okra plant (fruit) with the targeted chain length of 800-1000 units, MW of 5-6 MDa, and the targeted zero shear viscosity of 1-3 Mn mPas for 1-2.5% aqueous solution. This will be done by developing a continuous and automised extraction and purification process of HMW RGGA from the okra fruit with a production efficiency of 3 g of RGGA from 1 kg (0.3% weight-to-weight) of sliced okra fruit.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture horticulture fruit growing
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases RNA viruses influenza
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine surgery surgical procedures
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-SME-2012
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
452 31 STROMSTAD
Sweden
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.