Project description
Blood test for immunotherapy outcome prediction
Immune checkpoint inhibitors are a form of immunotherapy used to activate the immune system against cancer. However, most patients do not respond, and predicting who will benefit remains a major clinical challenge. Current biomarker tests have limited accuracy and often require invasive tumour biopsies. The EIC-funded NeutroFlow project addresses this unmet need by developing a simple blood test that uses neutrophils as a novel predictive biomarker for immunotherapy response. The research team will optimise this neutrophil assay for point-of-care use and validate it in three medical centres. This minimally invasive test could guide treatment decisions across cancer types, improving immunotherapy outcomes while reducing toxicity and healthcare costs.
Objective
The recent introduction of cancer immunotherapy based on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has revolutionised the treatment landscape for a broad range of cancer types. However, response to ICIs varies widely between patients, with the majority experiencing resistance to therapy. Moreover, the increasing use of these costly drugs coupled with management of ICI-related toxicities creates a substantial economic burden. Current biomarker tests for determining eligibility for ICIs have limited predictive performance, and many require invasive tumour biopsies. Thus, novel (and preferentially non-invasive) biomarkers for predicting ICI clinical benefit are desperately needed for better guiding clinical decisions. The NeutroFlow project directly addresses this unmet need. We build on comprehensive academic research describing a flow cytometry assay for measuring a novel predictive biomarker in the blood – Ly6Ehi neutrophil – that accurately predicts therapeutic benefit from ICIs, outperforming the approved PD-L1 biomarker. The NeutroFlow project aims to upgrade the research-level assay to an industry-level, point-of-care prototype test based on a kit comprised of an antibody panel for biomarker detection by standard flow cytometry (FC). Specifically, we will: (i) develop an FC assay according to clinical standards; (ii) develop and clinically validate a computational model that translates FC readout into a prediction of clinical benefit; (iii) evaluate analytical validity of the prototype across three medical centres (i.e. at the point-of-care); and (iv) prepare for future market introduction. The future product represents a minimally-invasive, simple, rapid, cost-effective test performed using standard hospital equipment. As a pan-cancer blood test for accurately predicting ICI therapeutic benefit, the product will potentially expand the benefit of ICIs to more patients, improve quality of life, limit the risk of ICI-related toxicities and reduce economic burden.
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 clinical medicine oncology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology immunotherapy
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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)
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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
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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.
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2024-TRANSITION-01
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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.
3057324 Binyamina
Israel
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.