Objective
The MYASTERIX project will advance a therapeutic vaccine candidate (designated orphan drug) indicated for the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis (MG) to clinical proof of concept studies. MG is caused by T cell dependent antibodies that bind to and deplete acetylcholine receptors (AChR) at neuromuscular junctions causing muscle weakness by interfering with neuromuscular transmission and junction architecture. The vaccine candidate comprises two synthetic peptides designed to generate antibodies that bind to autoantibodies and T-cell receptors associated with MG. These peptides prevented or improved muscle fatigue in a rat model of MG and increased the remission rate to 75% in pet dogs (compared to 17% natural remission rate in historical controls). In both models, administration of the peptides resulted in reduced titres of anti-AChR antibodies and lower numbers of anti-AChR T-cells, based on the induction of antibodies that bound to the corresponding B and T cell antigen receptors. These results suggest that similar antigen receptor mimetic vaccination approaches could drive autoimmune diseases like MG into long-term remission.
The objectives of the project are to manufacture toxicology and clinical batches of the vaccine human formulation based on already developed and tested standard operating procedures, to carry out stability and regulatory toxicity testing of the GMP product, to conduct phase I and subsequently phase II clinical trials to demonstrate safety, tolerability and proof of mechanism of action/concept of the therapeutic vaccine.
The impact on MG patients will be to offer a targeted therapeutic approach requiring only three injections, bringing significant and lasting improvement or even a cure. MG is a model for many autoimmune diseases and the concept of targeted therapeutic vaccines could lead to a new class of drugs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases more generally, with a significant impact on innovation, competitiveness and society.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules
- agricultural sciences animal and dairy science domestic animals
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology autoimmune diseases
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- medical and health sciences basic medicine toxicology
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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-HEALTH-2013-INNOVATION-1
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
75015 PARIS
France
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.