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Simultaneous Multiparametric MEA based platform for in-vitro chronic cardiotoxicity assessment with live-cell fluorescence imaging and electrophysiology.

Project description

Novel platform for multiparametric assessment of drug-related cardiotoxicity

Drug-related cardiotoxicity is the major cause of the failure or withdrawal of drugs from the market. Currently, cardiotoxicity can’t be assessed monitoring both cardiac action potentials whereby the heart beats through electrical impulses (functional toxicity) and damage to the heart’s morphology (structural toxicity) in a biological sample. This hinders comprehensive toxicity assessments. The EIC-funded SiMulTox project, using proprietary laser-based technology, aims to develop a novel platform for the simultaneous detection of both types of toxicity. The in vitro platform will combine transmembrane action potential recordings and live-cell fluorescence imaging in the same cardiac cell culture. Importantly, it will enable long-term tests for chronic toxic effect assessment. The final project objective is commercialisation of this novel platform to advance in vitro cardiotoxicity assessment.

Objective

Cardiac drug-related adverse effects have been the major causes for the failure or withdrawal of drugs from the market. With a growing global market, cardiotoxicity still remains a bottleneck in the chain of drug development. Despite the large investments in drug discovery and development, the number of approved drugs has been declining.
Current in-vitro technologies assess functional cardiotoxicity relying on short-term electrophysiological recordings (detection of cardiac Action Potentials, AP). However, drug toxic effects may manifest themselves in other ways such as morphological alterations, toxic chemical species generation or metabolic dysfunction. These effects are categorized as structural cardiotoxicity.
Presently, functional and structural toxicities cannot be assessed simultaneously on the same cardiac cell culture in long-term experiments. This represents a substantial barrier to a deeper toxicity assessment.
SiMulTox addresses this need with a novel platform for multiparametric detection of cardiac functional and structural toxicity. Starting from the unique laser-based technology of Foresee Biosystems, SiMulTox aims at developing an in-vitro platform that exploits a combinatorial approach of AP recordings and live-cell fluorescence imaging of the same cardiac cell culture. More importantly, it will provide these capabilities in extremely long tests (more than 1 month) that enable the assessment of chronic toxic effects.
The final objective is the commercialization of a platform that will reshape the market of in-vitro cardiotoxicity assessment. The product will generate high demand for equipment in the markets of cardiac physiology, safety pharmacology, and drug development. In perspective, SiMulTox will pave the way also to new products for assessing functional and structural neurotoxicities simultaneously, allowing Foresee Biosystems to expand substantially its target market.

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2021-TRANSITIONOPEN-01

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Coordinator

FORESEE BIOSYSTEMS SRL
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 786 875,00
Address
VIA VENTI SETTEMBRE 33/10
16121 Genova
Italy

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Nord-Ovest Liguria Genova
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
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Total cost

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.

€ 786 875,00
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