Objective
Drug discovery research includes lengthy Design-Make-Test-Analyze (DMTA) cycles that can delay the development and clinical trials of novel drug candidates by months, or even years, if not conducted efficiently. Not only the length of such DMTA cycles, but also flawed collaboration infrastructure between various leading European drug discovery institutes hampers drug discovery timelines, eventually resulting in more patients with serious diseases left untreated.
The TWISTING project aims to leverage on the drug discovery capacity of two widening institutions, University of Patras (UPAT, GR, Coordinator) and National Institute of Research and Innovation (NIRI; former Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, LV), based on the excellence of two leaders in the field, ETH Zurich (CH) and University of Oulu (UOULU, FI), to address lengthy DMTA cycles and inefficient drug discovery infrastructures by the WIDERA ‘twinning’ exercise. In addition, NexMR (CH) will join as a young startup to warrant effective valorization of scientific project results, as well as strengthening engagement with pharmaceutical companies and other industrial stakeholders.
Through twinning actions in the project, such as knowledge transfer and short-term staff exchanges, main applicant UPAT and widening partner NIRI will increase their scientific excellence, global network and infrastructure to the highest standards of advanced partners UOULU and ETHZ. Collectively, the partners will implement measures to improve research management, fundability and dissemination strategies for the widening partners. To validate the newly established research infrastructure, the partners will conduct a mutual drug discovery project on protein-protein interaction (PPI)-centric drug discovery with >80% shorter and more effective DMTA cycles.
The results of this project are preclinical drug candidates for difficult PPI-centric targets in the field of oncology, autoimmune diseases or neurodegenerative diseases with a potentially life-saving impact. The non-scientific project results include capacity-building for research infrastructure at widening partners UPAT and NIRI, transforming them into globally-leading academic institutes for advanced drug discovery.
In the long-term, the project is expected to result in significant expertise, employment growth and a renowned international reputation for the widening partners in the context of drug discovery and Life Sciences. This will set the foundation for a Pan-European research collaboration network for advanced drug discovery, with each partner bringing unique expertise and infrastructure to discover new small molecule drugs for diseases with high unmet needs and leverage the human potential and the institutional capacity of the widening partners.
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 drug discovery
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins proteomics
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology autoimmune diseases
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology neurodegenerative diseases
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
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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.4.1 - Widening participation and spreading excellence
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-CSA - HORIZON Coordination and Support 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-WIDERA-2026-02
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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.
265 04 RIO PATRAS
Greece
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.