Project description DEENESFRITPL A combinatorial treatment for bone cancer Osteosarcoma is a paediatric malignancy that originates in the bones. Conventional treatment entails surgical excision of the tumour well outside its original margins to ensure that no cancer cells are left behind. Patients often undergo further reconstructive surgery to regain limb function. The ERC-funded TRANSFORMER project proposes to develop a product that facilitates bone regeneration in combination with an anti-cancer treatment, and is able to target Cancer Stem Cells to avoid tumor recurrence. The latter employs cold atmospheric plasmas to generate reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) capable of killing cells. The confinement of RONS in hydrogels ensures delivery to the tumour site with no systemic side effects or reduced efficacy. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Improving the survival of patients with osteosarcoma has long proved challenging. Osteosarcoma is a rare bone cancer (less than 0.2% of all cancers). However, it affects mainly children and young adolescents. The standard therapy for osteosarcoma consists in the surgeon removing the entire tumor with negative margins (resection of larger areas of bone than the tumor itself), to ensure that no cancer cells are found at the edge of the tissue removed. This means that in some cases these surgeries associate limb amputation and even when it is not the case, most patients that undergo limb-sparing surgery need reconstructive surgery to regain limb function. The aim of TRANSFORMER is to bring closer to the market a solution that will allow to simultaneously treat bone cancer in absence of side effects while allowing bone regeneration. The product to be developed in TRANSFORMER puts together for the first time bone regeneration biomaterials with an innovative therapy for cancer that – in contrast to chemotherapy – up to now has shown no secondary effects: cold atmospheric plasma-treated hydrogels. The technology is protected by two PCT. TRANSFORMER value proposition: the product focused in in TRANSFORMER will have a double advantage for the patients and clinicians: it will be a local therapy that will allow simultaneous bone cancer treatment and bone regeneration. TRANSFORMER is structured along several objectives: (i) to preclinically validate the plasma-treated biocomposite as a potential therapy against bone cancer and towards bone regeneration, advancing the technology from TRL of 3 to 5, subsequently making it ready for clinical development and transfer to a spin-off or a third party company. (ii) To consolidate our IP position. (iii) To adapt the development roadmap to the regulatory requirements. (iv) To build a comprehensive business case for the exploitation of the technology and subsequent strategy for knowledge transfer. Fields of science medical and health sciencesclinical medicinesurgeryengineering and technologymaterials engineeringcompositesbiocompositesmedical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologyengineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologybiomaterials Programme(s) HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2022-POC2 - ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS2 Call for proposal ERC-2022-POC2 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme HORIZON-AG-LS - HORIZON Lump Sum Grant Host institution UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE CATALUNYA Net EU contribution € 150 000,00 Address CALLE JORDI GIRONA 31 08034 Barcelona Spain See on map Region Este Cataluña Barcelona Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost No data Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE CATALUNYA Spain Net EU contribution € 150 000,00 Address CALLE JORDI GIRONA 31 08034 Barcelona See on map Region Este Cataluña Barcelona Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost No data
