Objective
Biopharmaceutical proteins are typically produced in cultivated mammalian cells, a costly process with limited scalability. Thus products such as monoclonal antibodies are very expensive and often beyond the reach of the world’s poor. The problem is compounded by the fact that important strategies for preventing diseases such as HIV and rabies typically involve large doses of multiple antibodies and other virucidal proteins. Plants have emerged as alternative production platforms for biopharmaceutical proteins because they are less expensive, more scalable and potentially could be transferred to developing countries. Recently, the first products have reached the clinic, but many of them are follow-on products already manufactured in mammalian cells.
Here, Prof Julian Ma (St George’s Hospital Medical School, London, UK) and Prof Dr Rainer Fischer (RWTH Aachen University, Germany) aim to develop innovative ways to use plants for the economical, safe and sustainable production of combinations of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) based on recombinant proteins, thereby pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in plants beyond current capabilities with fermenter-based systems.
We will focus on the production of antibodies and lectins against HIV and rabies, with the aim of generating GMP-compliant microbicidal cocktails for evaluation in human trials. Key aspects of the project will include the production of APIs both individually and as combinations in plants, the development of technologies allowing the introduction of transgenes into pre-determined genomic loci, the use of click chemistry to optimize the production and stoichiometry of recombinant protein cocktails, the development of candidate products for both topical and parenteral administration and the development of downstream processing concepts that are transferrable to developing countries, such as minimal processing and processing trains based on pre-assembled disposable modules. We will complete one Phase I clinical trials, each testing a plant-derived product that advances the field in a significant way
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases RNA viruses HIV
- social sciences economics and business economics sustainable economy
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
ERC-2010-AdG_20100317
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.
Host institution
SW17 0RE London
United Kingdom
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.