Description du projet
Combattre la résistance antimicrobienne de l’intérieur
La capacité des agents pathogènes à résister aux antibiotiques, connue sous le nom de résistance aux antimicrobiens (RAM), est à l’origine de millions de décès chaque année et constitue une menace majeure pour la santé à l’échelle mondiale. L’apparition de bactéries résistantes à plusieurs ou à tous les médicaments disponibles constituent un scénario cauchemardesque, qui pourrait déboucher sur la prochaine pandémie mondiale. Financé par le programme HORIZON, le projet IN-ARMOR propose de renforcer les mécanismes de défense innés de l’organisme pour lutter contre la RAM. Les chercheurs utiliseront la conception de médicaments assistée par ordinateur pour développer une nouvelle classe d’activateurs du système immunitaire qui seront administrés au moyen d’un dispositif s’appuyant sur les nanotechnologies. L’efficacité de ces activateurs sera testée dans des modèles précliniques. Le projet vise à surmonter les goulets d’étranglement associés au développement d’antibiotiques et à offrir un traitement alternatif pour vaincre la résistance aux antimicrobiens.
Objectif
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) & multi-drug resistance, whereby pathogens evolve to resist antibiotic drugs, is designated by WHO one of the top 10 health threats of our time and is a top 3 priority health threat requiring EU level coordination. AMR was estimated to be linked to 4.95 million deaths in 2019. The next global pandemic could be a multi-drug resistant bacterium, or emergence of ‘pan-drug’ resistant strains (resistant to all existing drugs). Alternative therapeutic approaches are proving to be expensive and slow to develop, whilst also facing the risk of evolving strains. The innate immunity presents the strongest potential to tackle AMR as it can generate antimicrobial molecules and proteins that directly inhibit microbial survival. Inducing such proteins has shown effective antimicrobial activity against bacteria, viruses, fungi & protozoa.
Building on this approach, leading professors and researchers from 9 Universities and research institutes are collaborating with 7 medical and industry partners representing 9 EU countries to introduce a novel class of immune system inducers able to enhance the body’s own innate microbial defence mechanisms to combat AMR and reduce incidence of the 13 listed most dangerous infections (including 2 of the top 3 priority-1 infections).
IN-ARMOR will optimise an already developed drug platform using Computer Aided Drug Design, and in-silico approaches, in tandem with a nanotech-based drug delivery system for the first target indication. The developed therapy will be pre-clinically validated for safety and efficacy in-vitro and in vivo to complete all investigational Medicinal Product requirements.
Upon completion, IN-ARMOR will be prepared for clinical validation. Upon commercialisation, IN-AMOR could potentially save more 4Mn lives worldwide and result in the significant burden reduction of antibiotic development with long-term cost reduction impact of €107Bn, whilst reducing the global disease burden by 96.84Mn DAL
Champ scientifique
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteins
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsantibiotics
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistancemultidrug resistance
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistanceantibiotic resistance
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinateur
101 Reykjavik
Islande