Project description
New platform for precision medicine and drug development
Cherry Biotech accelerates drug development through predictive models based on human tissues (e.g. breast cancer, adipose tissue). Using technologies patented in Europe and US, it offers an alternative to animal testing, reducing risks in drug development (target identification, mechanism of action, lead generation). The EIC-funded ASTEROID project aims to focus on model reliability by replicating the complexity of human tissues (vascularised and immunocompetent), on regulatory adoption by receiving validation from authorities like the FDA and EMA, and on scalability by ensuring compatibility with standard multiwell plates. This will result on faster clinical trials, better patient selection (precision medicine), lower costs and reduced reliance on animal testing. Cherry Biotech plays a key role in drug development and personalisation of treatments to improve patient health.
Objective
The pharmaceutical and medical fields need more predictive models to assess the effects of drugs on patients. The demand arises
from the desire to replace animal tests, enhance predictability, and reduce drug development time and costs. In personalized
medicine, there's a need for tools like companion diagnostics to identify patients who will benefit and respond from specific
treatments.
Recent changes in EU and US regulations, allowing drug candidates to be submitted without animal testing, have led to the
development of alternative solutions like 3D cell culture and organs-on-a-chip. These technologies have shown promise in predicting
drug effects on patients, but 3 scientific challenges persist, namely including functional vascular interfaces, multilayer tissue
equivalent reconstruction without PDMS, and cultivating interconnected organs with varying oxygen concentrations. Also, 2
industrial bottlenecks on the compatibility with multiwell plate formats and the need for reproducible biological protocols are
present.
Cherry Biotech has developed a 3D cell culture platform that addresses these bottlenecks with three innovations: the Microfluidic
Perfusion Lid (MPL), the Hydroflat, and the Cubix control unit. These innovations have received approval from industrial and hospital
partners and has been patented in Europe and US.
The company aims to address the preclinical drug development (CubiX RUO, 2026) market and the precision medicine market (CubiX
CDx, 2030). The preclinical drug development market is growing rapidly due to favorable regulatory changes, while the precision
oncology market is driven by biomarker-based assays for guiding medical treatments.
Cherry Biotech's work not only has financial implications but also has a significant impact on human health and animal welfare by
offering predictive models and reducing the need for animal testing. It contributes to technological advancement and innovation in
the EU.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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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.
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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)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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.
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-EIC-ACC - HORIZON EIC Accelerator
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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-2024-ACCELERATOR-02
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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.
93100 MONTREUIL
France
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
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.