Project description
Cost-effective immunotherapy platforms target bacterial infectious diseases
Bacterial infections contribute to 20 % of global mortality. Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is the leading cause of mortality from a single infectious agent. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB poses a significant threat. A fourth of the population is latently infected, many with MDR strains. Current treatments face challenges including lack of specificity, ineffective access to intracellular bacteria and increasing antibiotic resistance. The EIC-funded NanoBiCar project aims to revolutionise bacterial infection treatment through innovative immunotherapy leveraging mRNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles. Targeting Mtb and elimination of intra- and extracellular bacteria as proof of concept, the project will deliver safe, cost-effective solutions suitable for latent, acute and chronic infections suitable for use in high-burden, low-resource settings.
Objective
It is estimated that 20% of global mortality is associated with bacterial infections. The current treatment is based on the use of antibiotics, but nonspecific effects, difficulty in reaching intracellular bacteria, and the generation of antimicrobial resistance limit its effectiveness. Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of mortality due to a single infectious agent: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) is a major threat to global health security. A quarter of the population is latently infected with Mtb, many of them MDR strains, so preventing new cases of this growing reservoir is a priority. Immunotherapy is an alternative option, but its effectiveness is based on the immune response capacity of a compromised host. NanoBiCar's long-term vision is to revolutionize the current treatment of bacterial infections with a groundbreaking and innovative immunotherapeutic approach, overcoming many of the problems associated with treatment, with potential application beyond this field. Using TB as a proof of concept, three immunotherapeutic platforms, using mRNAs encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles, not tested in bacterial diseases will be used to eliminate intra (IC) and extracellular (EC) bacteria. These immunotherapeutic methods are safe, economical, accessible, ready-to-use, and specific, targeting latent/ acute/chronic infections, without generating resistance and suitable for use in high-burden, low-resource settings; effective regardless of the antibiotic resistance of the strain and its niche (IC or EC), the genetic background of the host and the degree of immunocompetence.
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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- social sciencessociologydemographymortality
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriology
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinepneumologytuberculosis
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsantibiotics
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineimmunologyimmunotherapy
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Programme(s)
- HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) Main Programme
Call for proposal
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2024-PATHFINDEROPEN-01
See other projects for this callFunding Scheme
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC GrantsCoordinator
46022 Valencia
Spain