Novel Arthritis Treatment with focus on natural Chitin Oligosaccharides

Project Information

Simecos

Grant agreement ID: 761612

DOI

10.3030/761612

Project closed

EC signature date 4 February 2017

Start date 1 March 2017

End date 30 June 2017

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Health, demographic change and well-being

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

GENIS HF
Iceland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Simecos (Novel Arthritis Treatment with focus on natural Chitin Oligosaccharides)

Reporting period: 2017-03-01 to 2017-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Chronic rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases are leading causes of morbidity and disability, giving rise to enormous healthcare expenditures and loss of work worldwide. Among these diseases, Osteoarthritis (OA) condition has the greatest impact on society as is related to aging. By 2050, 130 million people will suffer from OA worldwide. Although there is a wide range palliative medicines available that can relieve pain and improve quality of life, there is no pharmaceutical product that reverses OA.
Our company has developed Benecta®. Benecta® is formed by active molecules (short chain chitosan, known as T-ChOS molecules) present in crustacean shells. T-ChOS molecules interact with YKL-40 protein, a protein associated with inflammation and most degenerative disorders in humans: cancer (lung, prostate and breast), Type 2 diabetes and OA. With Phase 1 project, we have assessed the technical and commercial feasibility of a OA drug derived from Benecta®. Additionally, we have evaluated a short-term commercial approach to reach the market in 2020. Because YKL-40 protein is overexpressed in some cancers (lung, prostate and breast), we have assessed the technical steps, costs and the EU requirements to bring to the market a nutraceutical supplement used during cancer treatment.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

We have performed a detailed market analysis of OA and cancer (breast, lung and pancreas), verifying the commercial potential for a nutraceutical and OA drug; a global FTO analysis and set our IP strategy. On the technical side, we have refined the purity of T-ChOS composition and complete the execution plan for the Phase 2 project (planning, organization, risk analysis and budget). On the economic side, we have developed a detailed business plan including revenues analysis and a commercialization plan for 5-years after project.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

At short term, commercialized as a nutraceutical, our solution will reduce patient recovery time during cancer treatment and improve quality of life. At long term, commercialized as a OA drug, it will offer protection of articular tissues, reduce the level of patient disability and improve quality of life in general. During Phase 2 we will develop the nutraceutical solution to starts its commercialization in 2020. Thus, considering the total number of new cases of breast, pancreas and lung cancer in Europe (783,501/year), the average cost of SIMECOS (€100/month) and expected cumulative sales of 58,55 M units, we estimate cumulative revenues of €18,32 M by 2024.

simecos.png