Objective
This project intends to prepare the commercialization of a new, patent-protected, generic technology to identify and characterize potential drugs acting at G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). GPCRs represent prime targets for therapeutic drugs, variously estimated at 25-50% of all therapeutic targets, including multi-billion € drugs for major diseases, such as beta-blockers or antihistamines. However, of the hundreds of GPCRs, only 82 are currently used as therapeutic targets, and many still lack the identification of their endogenous ligands, indicating the vast potential of these receptors for further drug development.
The project is based on results of the ERC-AdG “TOPAS” (ID: 232944), where we have developed sensors for receptor activation and signaling based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). In particular, we have developed new sensors that contain a GPCR and two fluorophores, capable of directly reporting receptor activation. The University of Würzburg has obtained broad patent rights for such sensors.
Such FRET-based receptor screening assays (FRESCA) have the potential to discover new, innovative GPCR drugs. We intend to explore the usability and scalability of FRESCA for drug screening purposes in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. We will validate FRESCA in comparison to current standards, and under high-throughput screening conditions. We expect that FRESCA can replace standard radioligand binding assays as the first line of drug screening. FRESCA further show the potential to define the properties and effects of drug candidates at GPCRs, by measuring directly the activation step (conformational change) of GPCRs rather than the many different downstream steps that are activated by GPCRs. This indicates the broad applicability of FRESCA as “all-in-one” assays for GPCRs and their commercial potential in biomedical and in drug research.
We intend to establish in this project the basis for a FRESCA-based start-up biotech company.
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
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors
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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.
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.
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.
ERC-2012-PoC
See other projects for this call
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.
Host institution
97070 Wuerzburg
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.