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Developing novel inhaled bioengineered Extracellular Vesicle RNA based advanced therapeutics, delivered by tailored aerosol delivery technology for the treatment of lung cancer

Project description

Advancing aerosol therapeutics delivery to the lung

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-enclosed structures actively secreted by cells as a means of intercellular communication in various biological processes. EVs have attracted great interest thanks to the therapeutic potential of their nucleic acid and protein cargo. The EU-funded INSPIRE project is exploiting EVs as delivery vehicles for transfer to the lung. To date, pulmonary gene therapy has been hampered by the inability of various nucleic acid vectors to penetrate the lung mucus and effectively reach lung cells. INSPIRE will employ an aerosol-based approach to efficiently deliver genetically modified EVs from mesenchymal stromal cells through the mucus barrier, as a therapy against lung cancer.

Objective

Lung cancer (LC) treatments have advanced in recent years with the advent of genetic profiling and immunotherapy. However, LC is a complex heterogeneous disease and survival rates remain poor. RNA (mRNA, microRNA, other non-coding RNAs and nucleic acid based modulators of same) and gene therapies (DNA or gene editing) for delivering nucleic acid-based therapeutics have curative potential for a host of indications previously untreatable. They have yet to enter the mainstream, due to safety concerns and difficulties delivering them efficiently to areas other than the liver, kidney and circulatory system. Aerosol delivery allows direct targeting of lung tissues but viscous mucus in the lung is a significant barrier to gene transfer to the target cells of the lungs. Even if the mucus layer can be penetrated, inefficient penetration through the cell membrane further impedes access of these vectors to the underlying target cells, thus preventing successful gene transfer.

Delivery is a major barrier to successful pulmonary gene therapy for competing viral and non-viral gene transfer vectors and the vast promise of gene therapy has many challenges to overcome. OMNI's novel solution is pioneering the use of genetically modified MSC EVs with a proprietary surface engineering technology to further enhance delivery through the mucus barrier and into the targeted lung cells. This platform technology also combines efficient aerosol delivery of the EVs via AERO's proprietary state of the art vibrating mesh nebulizer technology. This unique solution solves the problems associated with lung targeted delivery of RNA based advanced therapies.

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-HLTH-2021-TOOL-06

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Coordinator

MYRIAD CONSULTING LIMITED
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.

€ 173 577,50
Address
GUINNESS ENTERPRISE CENTRE TAYLOR'S LANE, DUBLIN 8
D08 C2F1 Dublin
Ireland

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Region
Ireland Eastern and Midland Dublin
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.

€ 173 577,50

Participants (8)

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