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3D screening system to cultivate tissue and automatically stimulate and quantify its mechanical properties

Project description

Novel 3D system for drug efficacy assessment

The development of new drugs is long and costly, requiring better systems for early testing. The ERC-funded TissMec project addresses this need by creating 3D human tissue models with an automated, scalable platform to assess drug safety and efficacy. Unlike currently used manual methods, TissMec can measure the mechanical properties of the tissue, such as muscle force generation, viscoelastic properties, and disease-relevant mechanical conditions, in a standardised 96-well format. This innovation allows early identification of problematic compounds and has the potential to accelerate drug development. TissMec is expected to revolutionise pharmacology and toxicology by improving efficiency and reliability in preclinical testing.

Objective

The way from potential drug candidates to clinically approved new medication is long and expensive. To improve this, we will provide the TissMec system that can create 3D human tissue while providing an automated and scalable way to quantify potential problems of drugs and other compounds of interest. Our TissMec system can not only measure the force generation of muscles and other contractile tissue but also continuously determine the viscoelastic tissue properties while mimicking mechanical situations that are known hallmarks of several critical diseases. Up to now, obtaining such information is either not possible or requires slow and expensive manual work. Hence, an automated, scalable and standardized (96 well) system that can quickly screen properties on human tissue can become a game-changer, as it identifies problematic drugs and compounds very early in the drug development process. We have a laboratory prototype (TRL4) that already demonstrates these capacities, and the proposed PoC project will develop this lab version into a user-friendly TRL6 prototype that we can give to our partners in pharmacology and toxicology and to already well-established industry partners. Our team is composed of 5 scientists spanning physics, biology, chemistry, data science, and economy. Hence, we not only have invented a new technology to greatly improve an urgent current problem but also have a powerful network and outstanding team to ensure the success of our project.

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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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.

(opens in new window) ERC-2023-POC

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Host institution

GEORG-AUGUST-UNIVERSITAT GOTTINGEN STIFTUNG OFFENTLICHEN RECHTS
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 150 000,00
Address
WILHELMSPLATZ 1
37073 Gottingen
Germany

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Region
Niedersachsen Braunschweig Göttingen
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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.

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Beneficiaries (1)

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