Description du projet
L’élastine pour soigner un cœur malade
L’infarctus du myocarde, aussi appelé crise cardiaque, est causé par une restriction du flux sanguin dans le cœur susceptible d’entraîner des lésions tissulaires. Afin de prévenir la formation de tissus cicatriciels, le projet ELR-SCAR, financé par l’UE, propose de mettre au point un hydrogel composé d’élastine, une protéine qui confère force et élasticité aux tissus. En plus d’être biodégradable, ce matériau se lie efficacement à l’endocarde et forme une barrière à la cicatrisation. Le projet vise à administrer l’hydrogel dans le cœur des patients au moyen d’un cathéter endocardique, une approche qui sera testée par le projet ELR-SCAR dans le cadre d’une première étude de validation sur l’humain. Au vu de la forte prévalence de l’infarctus du myocarde dans la population, l’intervention proposée devrait avoir une incidence importante sur la société.
Objectif
The ELR SCAR project aims to complete preclinical validation of a novel biomaterial, an elastin-like recombinant (ELR) hydrogel, to prevent scar tissue formation in the heart following myocardial infarction (MI), commonly called a heart attack. MI is the endpoint of ischaemic heart disease (IHD). In Europe, the highest rates of IHD worldwide equal ~26.5 million patients. Standards of care interventions after MI have serious limitations in treatment efficacy (many patients are still at risk of developing heart failure) and patient safety. There is a clear medical need for new treatment solutions that prevent scar tissue formation and irreversible cardiac remodelling. Our robust preclinical dataset so far indicates that the ELR hydrogel has this promising functionality via multiple unique characteristics: it provides selective cell adhesion to the endocardium, providing a barrier to scar tissue formation; it offers high biospecificity to the ischaemic microenvironment, and it has an enhanced biodegradability, allowing for safe disintegration in the body. To facilitate endocardial delivery of the ELR hydrogel, we will develop a minimally invasive endocardial catheter in this project. Both components (hydrogel + catheter) will be advanced to the preparedness level for a first-in-human (FIH) validation study for the application as therapeutic intervention post-MI (to be performed after the project). In addition, we will develop the regulatory and IPR strategies in preparation for this clinical validation step. Considering the high societal impact of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and MI, we will also develop a solid health economic evaluation of possible savings and patient benefits. ELR-SCAR will transform and fundamentally improve clinical practice, resulting in reducing the enormous burden that MI and its leading cause, IHD, place on society and the individual patient.
Champ scientifique
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HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinateur
H91 Galway
Irlande