Descrizione del progetto
Sviluppo rapido di vaccini glicoconiugati contro le infezioni
Le infezioni batteriche comportano un notevole onere medico e socio-economico, e l’aumento dei batteri resistenti agli antimicrobici rende necessari nuovi approcci terapeutici. I vaccini glicoconiugati sono fondamentali per combattere questi ceppi batterici poiché collegano gli antigeni ai vettori, fornendo un’immunità a lungo termine. Il progetto ACINETWORK, finanziato dall’UE, è dedicato allo sviluppo di un vaccino contro i ceppi di Acinetobacter baumannii, noti per causare infezioni gravi. Attualmente non esiste un vaccino in grado di combatterli. Il progetto si propone pertanto di sfruttare gli antigeni oligosaccaridici di sintesi per creare vaccini con una composizione ben definita, una purezza maggiore e profili di sicurezza migliori. Il metodo proposto risulterà più rapido ed economico. Inoltre, il progetto si propone di fornire corsi di formazione a giovani esperti nella progettazione di queste soluzioni mediche.
Obiettivo
Bacterial infections are a societal burden with profound medical and socio-economic impacts. Although antibiotics can be effective, the continuous emergence of bacteria with antimicrobial resistance calls for the introduction of novel therapeutics. In this regard, glycoconjugate vaccines (GV) hold a prominent role in the fight against AMR bacterial strains. They are based on the chemical conjugation of one or more pathogen-associated saccharide antigens to immunogenic carriers, leading to a long-term protective immunity. ACINETWORK will focus on the development of GV against severe and life-threatening infections caused by antimicrobial resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains, which are a major cause of nosocomial diseases and for which no vaccine exists. ACINETWORK wants to overcome the limitations of currently licensed GV, due to highly heterogeneous composition and batch wise variability, by innovatively using structurally-defined synthetic oligosaccharide antigens to develop GV with well-defined composition, higher purity and better safety profiles. The manufacturing of such GV is also more rapid and cost-effective. Thus, this project will set synthesis and testing pipelines that will serve as the prototype for the development of GV against other bacteria. The ACINETWORK consortium comprises universities and SMEs with a unique complementary expertise, ranging from carbohydrate chemistry to nanotechnology, immunology and microbiology, which garantees the realization of the new GV. The goal of ACINETWORK is to also forge 10 young experts in the design of these novel medical solutions with an integrated training program, which will equip them with a large battery of scientific and transferable skills. The multidisciplinarity of the consortium ensures a fertile and stimulating environment in which these young researchers will acquire unique competencies in vaccine design, development and production, which will be central at putting Europe at the forefront of GV.
Campo scientifico
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriology
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsvaccines
- 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
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Meccanismo di finanziamento
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN - HORIZON TMA MSCA Doctoral NetworksCoordinatore
20122 Milano
Italia