Project description
New technology to repair spinal cord injuries
The Neurofibres project, conducted under FET Proactive from 2017 to 2021, advanced the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI) through an innovative approach. By combining biomaterials, pharmaceuticals, and electrical stimulation, the project aimed to create an implant capable of promoting the closure of spinal cord gaps. Now, the EIC-funded DREIMS project is looking to develop a new healthcare technology for spinal cord repair. It aims to mature the concept, bringing it closer to receiving approval for use in human therapeutics. The inventors of the implant have already filed a patent application. Additionally, they have set up a spin-off company dedicated to refining and validating the implant for successful clinical and commercial use in the medical field.
Objective
In Neurofibres (FET-PROACTIVE, 2017-2021), we accomplished a major therapeutic advance for spinal cord injury (SCI) by combining biomaterials, pharmaceuticals, and electrical stimulation into an innovative implant able to promote the closure of the spinal cord gap, with axonal regrowth and glial cell migration across large lesions in rodent and porcine models of SCI. In brief, the implant comprised biofunctionalized, conducting polymer-coated carbon microfibres (MFs) that promoted aligned neural cell growth across the lesion, embedded within a drug-eluting hydrogel that filled the tissue defect and reduced fibrosis. These intraspinal elements were complemented with electrodes that provided biphasic electrical stimulation (ES) to the lesion and the perilesional tissue, thus inducing extensive neural regeneration.
Building on the initial proof of concept achieved in Neurofibres (TRL 3), DREIMS will mature this novel healthcare technology through TRLs 4-5, becoming close to its approval for use in human therapeutics while creating a business plan to support further exploitation steps. The inventors of the implant filled a patent application (P202230626) on the mentioned results and recently created a spin-off company (Spinal Cord Technologies, SCT S.L.) to pursue the refinement and validation of a successful clinical and commercial medical product. DREIMS builds on those results to consolidate the first-in-class drug-eluting electrical implant to repair the spinal cord. The implant will refine and integrate three modules, namely the microfiber/drug-eluting gel bundles (MIBs) from FUHNPAIIN / SCT S.L. (Spain), spinal electrode arrays (SEAs) from ALU-FR/IMTEK (Germany), and a fully implantable electric pulse generator (IPG) from NEURINNOV (France), thus forming a procedure pack according to the European Medical Device Regulation (MDR) 2017/745. Addressing regulatory requirements and business development activities will increase the market readiness of the implant.
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 basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug resistance multidrug resistance
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology biomaterials
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology implants
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
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Topic(s)
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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.
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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) HORIZON-EIC-2023-TRANSITION-01
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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.
45071 Toledo
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.