Objective
Obesity constitutes an alarming global epidemic, exposing billions of individuals to a multitude of metabolic, infectious, & neoplastic health ramifications. While weight reducing interventions of the GLP-1 family are transforming medical weight reductive therapy, long-term weight loss maintenance remains a daunting unmet challenge, with most medically treated individuals rebounding to obesity. In our project, we will generate a first-of-its kind solution to this global need that will involve oral human utilization of microbiome-modulated weight-regulating interventions. In our ERC-funded project (Fluhr et al., Nature 2021), we discovered that depletion of several microbiome-modulated metabolites drives weight gain in smoking-cessation-induced weight gain. Oral supplementation of several of these molecules has led to a generalizable & significant weight reduction across multiple obesogenic conditions.
Building on these findings, the ERC-PoC will develop a commercial metabolite-based treatment or supplement, that will safely attenuate weight gain, maintain long-term weight reducing impacts, and improve metabolic functions. The project includes four work packages:
(1) Development and production of metabolite-based drugs and/or medical foods (following a rigorous market study in a dual path approach). (2) Testing these molecules for efficacy, mechanism and safety in obese/lean mice. (3) performing a first-in-human trial (using the most efficacious formulation) in obese/GLP-1-treated individuals (4) in parallel, conducting an extensive commercialization effort to translate our findings into a NewCo, based on 1-2 new products. Notably, there is currently no such orally administered long-term solution complementing weight-reducing therapies in maintaining weight over time. As such, our ERC-PoC project will provide a proof-of-concept product/s for prevention & treatment intervention, providing a unique and commercially scalable solution to an important unmet global problem.
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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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.
7610001 Rehovot
Israel
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.