Objective
The 2009 H1N1 pandemic and the ongoing threat of highly pathogenic H5N1 strains have focused attention worldwide on the urgent need for effective anti-influenza drug options when the public is not protected by vaccination. The need is pressing since several circulating strains are resistant to currently stock-piled anti-neuraminidase drugs. In this project, we will exploit our recent advances in the detailed mechanistic understanding of the structure and function of the viral polymerase, the replication machine of the virus, to develop new drug candidates that inhibit viral replication in infected cells. The polymerase is an excellent drug target as it is highly conserved in all influenza A strains, whether of avian, swine or human origin. The project consortium includes 12 academic and SME partners from 6 European countries chosen for their expertise and complementarity. The focused drug design programme will start with already existing patented small molecule hits against two different polymerase active site targets and use structure-based medicinal chemistry expertise to arrive at optimized leads to enter preclinical studies. The aim is to take one preclinical candidate to phase 1 clinical trials, with contingency plans in place to cover setbacks. In parallel, a world-leading network of European academic labs will continue fundamental research on influenza polymerase atomic structure, cellular function and role in inter-species transmission, which will feed back into the drug design programme with enhanced assays for polymerase inhibitors, improved understanding of how the inhibitors work in the cellular context and potential resistance mechanisms, as well as providing new targets for future anti-influenza drug-design. If successful, the project will provide new opportunities to treat both seasonal and pandemic flu and thus can have an enormous impact on world-wide public health and well-being as well as the competitiveness of the European pharmaceutical sector
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug discovery
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine medicinal chemistry
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health epidemiology pandemics
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases RNA viruses influenza
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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-INFLUENZA-2010
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
69117 Heidelberg
Germany
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.