Project description
Post-antibiotic products for enhanced maternal resilience
Microbial dysbiosis can lead to behavioural changes, such as increased aggression, which can also affect offspring. Gut bacteria may play a role in influencing these behaviours. A potential solution is a daily post-biotic supplement, similar to prenatal vitamins, which could help restore gut health after antibiotic use during pregnancy and nursing. The ERC-funded BEHAVIOME project has identified a path toward early commercialisation and secured internal support for development. The ERC-funded PRO-MOM project aims to advance this technology through proof-of-concept demonstrations and market research. The project plans to establish a spin-off company to develop post-antibiotic products with venture capital or partnerships. It seeks to create a post-antibiotic supplement aimed at enhancing maternal and neonatal microbiota while reducing behavioral disturbances during the first 1 000 days of life.
Objective
Microbial dysbiosis can lead to behavioral changes including aggressive behavior. Mice treated with antibiotics exhibit increased aggression, as do offspring of mothers given antibiotics only during pregnancy or alternatively only when nursing. Promising results from our lab in flies and mice support our hypothesis that such behaviors are partially affected by gut bacteria and associated metabolic compounds. Pregnancy is associated with reduced immune function and women receive antibiotics during this period for a myriad of reasons. Preclinical trials and clinical research suggest strong effects of these treatments on offspring. A postbiotic to be taken daily, in a manner similar to prenatal vitamins, following antibiotic use during pregnancy and breastfeeding can restore microbiota form and function, towards alleviating changes in offspring behavior. Throughout our ERC-funded research, BEHAVIOME, our approach to exploring the innovation potential of our research is a stepwise process. A direct result of this process was the identification of the ERC Proof of Concept as a viable route to defining the early commercialisation steps, and obtaining internal support to develop and implement the project. Within PRO-MOM, we aim to complete two critical objectives: significant progress on technology development (POC demonstration, in vivo pilot data), and achieving business readiness (market research, business plan, end-user engagement). The outcome of the ERC POC will enable us to take the last step pre-commercialisation, developing market readiness. For commercialization, our plan is to set up a spin-off company that will develop several postbiotic leads, either through funding raised through venture capital, or co-development with other larger companies in the field. With PRO-MOM we will develop a post-antibiotic supplement that promotes maternal-neonatal microbiota restructuring and reduces behavioral disturbances in the critical first 1000 days of life.
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 health sciences nursing
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine obstetrics
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
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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)
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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.
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-2023-POC
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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.
52900 Ramat Gan
Israel
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.