Project description
An oral vaccine against colorectal cancer
Cancer vaccines harness the body’s immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells. They can be preventive or therapeutic after the cancer has developed. Cancer vaccines are emerging as a promising solution for ‘cold’ colorectal cancer (CRC) with a low number of infiltrating immune cells and less responsiveness to immunotherapies such as immune checkpoint inhibitors. The ERC-funded VICTORY project aims to advance an oral vaccine that uses nanovesicles to trigger localised anti-cancer immunity. The goal is to improve immune cell infiltration and enhance immunotherapy response while minimising side effects and improving patient adherence. The project will explore both the technical and commercial potential of this vaccine, addressing a major unmet need in advanced CRC treatment.
Objective
"Colorectal cancer (CRC), which includes cancers of the colon and rectum, represents a significant global health challenge as the third most commonly diagnosed and second most fatal cancer worldwide. It also places a substantial burden on European patients and healthcare systems. While standard treatments are available, they face significant limitations, especially in managing advanced CRC, often leading to poor patient outcomes and severely compromised quality of life. Emerging immunotherapies like immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and adoptive cell therapies show promise but face major obstacles, including high costs, side effects, lack of tumor targeting, and, most critically, they fail to treat ""cold"" CRC tumors with low or absent pre-existing anti-cancer immunity. Prof. Shi and his team have developed an innovative oral cancer vaccine to transform these “cold” CRC tumors into “hot” tumors by provoking potent cellular and humoral anti-cancer immunity. The vaccine will achieve this through its acid-stable nanovesicle structure to induce potent and intestine-localized anti-cancer immunity with reduced systemic side effects and improved patient compliance. This project aims to explore the technical and commercial potential of the vaccine platform."
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 basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology immunotherapy
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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)
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-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-2024-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.
52074 Aachen
Germany
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.