Project description
Bioinformatics method to improve chronic disease management
Identifying virus-related biomarkers is crucial for managing chronic diseases, including those that indicate responses to antiviral treatments and virome characteristics that signal disease progression in immunosuppressed individuals. In this context, the EU-funded VIROMARKERS project aims to develop a bioinformatics method to predict HIV-1 susceptibility to monoclonal antibodies and assess treatment responses to bulevirtide using HDV RNA quantification and other biomarkers. It will validate serum CMV-RNA for infection monitoring in stem cell transplant patients and use biomarkers to guide antiviral strategies. The project will create diagnostic tools for HDV quantification, CMV-RNA detection, and TTV-DNA quantification, while outlining regulatory pathways for approval. Ultimately, VIROMARKERS seeks to provide effective biomarkers and technologies to address critical clinical needs and improve patient outcomes.
Objective
The unifying aim of VIROMARKERS is to define virus related biomarkers to improve management of chronic diseases, including biomarkers of response to antiviral treatment of persistent viral infections and virome features as indicators of disease progression in immunosuppressed people.
The project has the following objectives:
1. To demonstrate a novel bioinformatics method for prediction of HIV-1 susceptibility to broadly neutralising antibodies based on the HIV-1 gp120 sequence.
2. To demonstrate novel HDV biomarkers (HDV-RNA, HBsAg isoforms and HDV genotype) to predict treatment response to the recently approved anti-HDV bulevirtide.
3. To validate serum CMV-RNA as a biomarker of CMV infection/reactivation to optimise the correct timing for preventive strategies in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
4. To validate the torque teno virus DNA as a prognostic biomarker for CMV disease in immunocompromised patients.
5. To validate total and intact cellular HIV DNA as a biomarker of HIV infection status to guide novel antiviral strategies.
Validation or demonstration of several technologies required to measure the candidate biomarkers is an integral part of the project objectives. In particular, this refers to the following diagnostic tools:
• dPCR as a tool for HDV quantification
• NGS platform for HDV sequencing
• qPCR diagnostics for CMV-RNA quantification
• IPDA suitable for detection of intact HIV-DNA in any viral subtype
• qPCR diagnostics for TTV-DNA
Leveraging on the regulatory expertise present in the consortium, VIROMARKERS will define the regulatory pathway for each of its outcomes and will generate the experimental data necessary to move prototype methods and tools to regulatory approval.
Overall, VIROMARKERS, with its public private partnership nature, will make available for healthcare providers and for researchers robust and fit-for-purpose biomarkers and linked technologies enabling their clinical use in response to important unmet clinical needs with, in the end, an important impact also for patients.
VIROMARKERS is supported by the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU). The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and COCIR, EFPIA, Europa Bío, MedTech Europe, and Vaccines Europe
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 microbiology virology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases RNA viruses HIV
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine transplantation
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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.2.1 - Health
MAIN PROGRAMME
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HORIZON.2.1.7 - Innovative Health Initiative
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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-JU-RIA - HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions
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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-JU-IHI-2024-07-single-stage
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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.
00152 ROMA RM
Italy
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.