Project description
Using the genes of bacteria-eating viruses to eradicate Europe’s most common food contaminant
Viruses and bacteria do not always live together peacefully. Bacteriophages, or bacteria ‘eaters,’ are viruses that infect bacteria. They hijack the cell’s machinery and force it to produce viral necessities rather than the bacterium’s own, eventually killing the bacterium. Bacteriophages have been used to treat bacterial infections for decades. The EU-funded AntiCamp project has developed proprietary phage-based particles they plan to turn against Campylobacter jejuni, the most common foodborne contaminant in Europe. Commercialisation of this safe, cost-effective and unique approach will eliminate C. jejuni from food without compromising the food’s appeal.
Objective
Campylobacter jejuni is the most common foodborne contamination in Europe, affecting millions of people, and costing billions of Euros. Current procedures to treat this contamination do not offer sufficient solutions. Here I present a unique approach to eradicate the pathogen from food by utilizing a cost-effective and safe product that does not alter the taste, texture, or appearance of the food. This innovation involves a spray composed of proprietary phage-based particles, which inject antibacterial genes into C. jejuni, thus killing the pathogen. Current phage-based technologies for decontaminating food encounter a major hurdle, because large-scale phage production in the fastidious and pathogenic C. jejuni strain is highly challenging. However, a major advantage of my product is that it can be prepared in a safe and easy-to-grow Escherichia coli host rather than in C. jejuni. Another significant advantage is that the technology producing the phages enables rapid and efficient modifications to the phage-based particles. This platform thus allows easy isolation and manufacture of cocktails of phage-based particles able to target a variety of pathogenic serotypes of C. jejuni. Furthermore, the proprietary particles all have a common scaffold, thus simplifying the regulation, safety, and route of manufacture. I propose a clear commercialization activity with a highly qualified team that I recruited, from both the scientific and commercialization fields. Developing and commercializing this product will provide a proof-of-concept to demonstrate the strength of this approach and will thus pave the way for additional innovative materials based on this technology.
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 health sciences public health
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes viral genomes
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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.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - 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.
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept Grant
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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-2018-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.
69978 Tel Aviv
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.