Project description
Novel drug-discovery platform to target cancer stem cells
Hundreds of thousands of people are diagnosed each year with colorectal cancer (CRC). Despite available treatments, the survival of patients with advanced-stage CRC is poor. The EU-funded ACHILLEUS project aims to develop and validate a novel drug discovery platform that involves patient-derived organoids (PDOs) and phenotypic machine learning-assisted validation to identify therapeutics to target CRC stem cell signalling pathways. Researchers will target CRC stem cell signalling pathways to shift the balance between stem cells and differentiated cells, using the targeting of the Wnt pathway as a proof of principle. The goal is to create a new company based on a phenotypic drug discovery platform for targeting cancer stem cell signalling.
Objective
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequent cancers with a high burden on society. In Europe alone, more than 340,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year. While treatment options of CRC have expanded over the last decades, the survival rates of patients suffering from advanced-stage cancers remain poor. Stemness of neoplastic cells has been proposed as a major factor in treatment resistance and high relapse rates, however, drugs targeting stem cell signaling pathways in cancer are still lacking today. We propose developing and validating a new drug discovery platform based on patient-derived organoids (PDOs) and machine learning-assisted phenotypic target validation and drug discovery. Using this platform, we have previously shown that we can identify a broad spectrum of phenotypes beyond lethality, including drug-induced changes in stemness of PDOs. As part of the EIC Open Transition project, we will validate our next-generation platform for identifying therapeutics to target stem cell signaling pathways in CRC. Based on results by us showing that an interaction of MEK and Wnt signaling shifts the balance between stemness and differentiated cells, we will target Wnt pathways as a demonstrator for the technology. The ACHILLEUS project targets critical vulnerabilities in cancer and is based on technologies and approaches developed during previous ERC Advanced and ERC Proof-of-Concept grant-funded projects. The project?s ultimate aim is to spin out a NewCo as a phenotypic drug discovery platform for targeting cancer stem cell pathways.
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.
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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.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
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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) HORIZON-EIC-2021-TRANSITIONOPEN-01
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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.
69120 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.