Objective According to the WHO 235 million people suffer from asthma and 64M people have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, leading to 3M deaths per year worldwide. The cost of treating patients with all forms of lung disease is ~ €380B p.a. leading to the loss of >50M DALYS. Generally, patients with such respiratory diseases are treated by inhalation of medicines within aerosols, where the therapy (including medicine or biologics used in gene therapy) can be targeted directly to the lung. The accepted wisdom is that such pulmonary delivery requires aerosol droplet sizes of between 1 and 5 μm. We have now shown that by using a new ultrasonic technology, we can create monodisperse aerosol droplets, which could be used for therapeutic delivery of medicines, genes and RNA to specific regions in the lungs. In one strand of the work we aim to demonstrate that this precise nebulisation technology improves the efficacy of treatment through enhanced drug uptake. In a second strand, we will demonstrate selective targeting of different tissue types in the lungs. For example, the epithelium in cystic fibrosis patients is currently extremely difficult to access leading to limitations in the amount and quality of data obtained for pre-clinical and clinical gene therapies. Similarly, targeting vascular cells is an appealing treatment for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, although, again, effective delivery necessitates that the therapeutic system transits defined and substantial anatomical barriers. The overall aim is to demonstrate that this new technology can define routes to new therapies, improve clinical outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. To achieve this we will develop a prototype nebuliser based upon proprietary technology and show that different medicines and gene therapies can be delivered effectively to the lungs of a model mouse. We will also start to build a commercial team and work closely with industry to deliver impact and innovation to the market. Fields of science medical and health sciencesclinical medicinepneumologyasthmamedical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologygenetic engineeringgene therapymedical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesRNA virusescoronavirusesnatural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsRNAnatural sciencesphysical sciencesacousticsultrasound Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-PoC-2014 - ERC Proof of Concept Grant Call for proposal ERC-2014-PoC See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-POC - Proof of Concept Grant Host institution UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW Net EU contribution € 149 791,00 Address UNIVERSITY AVENUE G12 8QQ Glasgow United Kingdom See on map Region Scotland West Central Scotland Glasgow City Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 149 791,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW United Kingdom Net EU contribution € 149 791,00 Address UNIVERSITY AVENUE G12 8QQ Glasgow See on map Region Scotland West Central Scotland Glasgow City Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 149 791,00