Project description
Boosting chemotherapy with smart bacteria
Cancer treatments often work unevenly. Some patients respond well, while others face harsh side effects with little benefit. One reason lies in differences in the gut microbiome, which can influence how the body reacts to therapy. The ERC-funded MELAB project aims to overcome this challenge by using metabolically enhanced lactic acid bacteria that deliver helpful metabolites directly to the gut, boosting chemotherapy effectiveness. Building on the ERC ModEM project, MELAB’s live biotherapeutics offer targeted metabolite delivery and optimal pharmacokinetics without genetic modification, allowing faster clinical translation. The project ultimately aims to create a safe, market-ready therapy that enhances treatment response and improves outcomes for cancer patients.
Objective
Inter-individual variation in cancer therapy responses is significant, with a substantial fraction of patients not responding to treatment. This exposes non-responders to harmful side effects without benefit and results in vast resources being spent on eventually ineffective treatments. A key factor behind this variability is differences in microbiome composition and metabolism. However, translating microbiome-cancer research into live bacterial therapies that modulate the microbiome is challenging due to its complexity and heterogeneity. This project addresses this challenge using safe, robust, metabolically enhanced lactic acid bacteria capable of delivering therapy-boosting metabolites in the gut. We focus on metabolites naturally produced by gut bacteria that have been shown to enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy. The engineered bacteria will function as live biotherapeutics, ensuring the targeted delivery of metabolites directly in the gut and thus achieving physiologically beneficial pharmacokinetics. Our approach is distinct from other microbiome therapies due to its clear mechanism of action and the use of a unique platform developed in the ERC project ModEM. It enables rapid metabolic enhancement without genetic engineering, thereby reducing regulatory hurdles and accelerating market entry. Overall, the MELAB project aims to translate core findings from the ModEM project into a novel therapeutic adjuvant with the potential to benefit cancer patients by increasing therapy response rates.
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.
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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.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-2025-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.
CB2 1TN CAMBRIDGE
United Kingdom
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.