Project description
Efforts to advance exosome therapies
Exosome-based therapies hold great promise for treating diseases like cancer, diabetes, and neurological disorders. However, two major challenges hinder their progress. Firstly, isolating exosomes from complex body fluids is difficult because of their fragile membranes and the limitations of current methods, which often damage them or produce low yields. Secondly, safely loading exosomes with therapeutic agents like drugs or RNA remains an unsolved problem. In this context, the ERC-funded LABORIOUS project offers innovative solutions. A new tangential filtration process will isolate exosomes more efficiently and gently, while a cutting-edge electroporation system will load them with therapeutic cargo without damaging their membranes. The project aims to drive these advancements toward commercialisation and clinical use.
Objective
Exosome-based therapies are among the hottest topics in biomedical research, driven by the unique properties of exosomes regarding stability, low immunogenicity, prolonged circulation and especially, selective targeting. In 2022, over 50 clinical trials using exosomes for therapy were under way, in diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes to central nervous system disorders. However, both current research on exosomes and their future translation into clinical therapies are hindered by two significant problems. The first is the isolation of exosomes (and of extracellular vesicles in general), a highly challenging task due to: i) the high complexity of the body fluids that contain them, and ii) the delicate nature of exosomes themselves: soft entities of 50-150 nm whose membrane is responsible for key properties and must be preserved. Ultracentrifugation, the standard isolation method, has clear limitations: low yields, impurity of the products and damage to exosomal membranes due to long processing times at high g. While numerous alternatives have been commercialized (size, affinity and precipitation-based methods), these issues remain unsolved. The second problem relates to the loading of therapeutic agents (nanoparticles, drugs, siRNA, miRNA), into exosomes without damaging their membranes, another challenge without a solution today.
LABORIOUS leverages the experience gained in AdG CADENCE to propose innovative solutions. A novel tangential filtration procedure will segregate exosomes by size, removing impurities and minimizing pressure-induced membrane damage. Also, a pioneering continuous electroporation system will provide unprecedented control, allowing the load of therapeutic cargo with minimal membrane disruption. Results will be closely monitored for patenting and commercialization, in collaboration with an industrial observer.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences cell biology
- natural sciences chemical sciences electrochemistry bioelectrochemistry electroporation
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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)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
50009 ZARAGOZA
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.