Project description
Overcoming the immunogenicity of polyethylene glycol-conjugated drugs
Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a biocompatible polymer used in the medical industry as a bioconjugate to improve the pharmacokinetic properties of drugs. Conjugation of drugs with PEG prolongs their systemic circulation and renders them non-immunogenic. However, emerging evidence indicates that certain patients develop anti-PEG antibodies, leading to hypersensitivity and drug clearance. Funded by the European Research Council, the RandoPEGMed project aims to address this problem by modifying PEG polymers to eliminate immune recognition. Given the importance of PEG for drug delivery, researchers hope to maintain its pharmaceutical use and increase its safety.
Objective
PEGylation, the attachment of the highly hydrophilic, biocompatible polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) to therapeutics, has become a key strategy in current nanomedicine. PEGylation is indispensable for a broad variety of commercial therapeutics. They range from protein drugs to relevant nanocarriers, such as liposomes and lipid nanoparticles. PEG leads to the particular stealth effect, i.e. strongly prolonged blood circulation times and apparent invisibility for the immune system. This is also used for lipid nanoparticles (LNP) transporting mRNA vaccines, used worldwide against the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this powerful weapon is now in danger of becoming blunt: An increasing body of literature from immunologists, clinicians and biochemists shows a rapid increase of individuals (50-70% in industrialized countries) possessing anti-PEG antibodies (APAs). This causes undesirable rapid elimination of PEGylated drugs from the bloodstream, hypersensitivity and strong allergic reactions. RandoPEGMed introduces PEG-derived random copolymers for nanomedicine. These PEG copolymers with well-defined chain length possess randomly distributed point mutations along the chains, which both disables recognition by the immune system and formation of antibodies. The project will thus exploit monomer sequence statistics to eliminate immunogenicity, representing a radically new approach in polymer therapeutics. One pivotal aim is precise understanding of monomer sequence statistics in the anionic copolymerization of glycidyl ether monomers with ethylene oxide (EO). At the interface of polymer synthesis, pharmaceutical chemistry and medicine this project aims at preserving the benefits of PEGylation for the future. Based on our preliminary results and the hypothesis that anti-PEG antibodies cannot be formed against random PEG copolymers, this concept will have vast therapeutic implications for polymer conjugates, therapeutic nanoparticles and stealth liposomes.
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 health sciences public health epidemiology pandemics
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology nanomedicine
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry aliphatic compounds
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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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.
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.
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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.
(opens in new window) ERC-2021-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
55122 MAINZ
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.