Project description
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.
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 (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.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine surgery
- engineering and technology materials engineering composites biocomposites
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology biomaterials
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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.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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.
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.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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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) ERC-2022-POC2
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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.
08034 BARCELONA
Spain
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.