Objective
Over 45,000 people die each year in Europe – and 255,000 worldwide – from cancers of the brain and central nervous system. Gliomas are the biggest killer, accounting for a third of all diagnoses and 80% of primary malignant brain tumours. Among these glioblastoma is the most common, most aggressive and deadliest. Standard of care treatment offers little hope for patients diagnosed with gliomas: there is no cure, the median survival is 14.6 months and the 2-year survival rate is 13.5%. Conventional therapies can reduce tumour bulk, but they are ineffective at killing the cancer stem cells that drive tumour progression. Curtana may have found the answer. Its novel approach targets a transcription factor, Olig2, which is instrumental in tumorigenesis, tumour expansion and survival. By inhibiting Olig2, Curtana’s small molecule compound, CT-179, kills cancer stem cells. Pre-clinical results show CT-179 to be cytotoxic in selected tumours, a potent radiosensitiser, orally bioavailable and well tolerated; it also crosses the blood-brain barrier and has a high therapeutic index relative to conventional cancer drugs. Most importantly, it increases survival rates (in early studies, median improvement was 68%). Results indicate it may have benefit for other cancers too – any in which Olig2 is highly expressed, including all gliomas and other cancers such as lung, ovarian and endometrial. The Phase 1 project will address the feasibility of carrying out the further pre-clinical and clinical studies required before Curtana can apply for drug marketing approval. This will include identification of clinical partners for multi-centre trials that would be carried out in Europe in Phase 2, as well as potential investors.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug discovery
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine surgery
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
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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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H2020-EU.3.1. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Health, demographic change and well-being
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3.1.3. - Treating and managing disease
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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.
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1
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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) H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017
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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.
SE1 0BL LONDON
United Kingdom
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
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.