Project description
Anti-cancer compounds from the North Atlantic shrimp
Chitinases and non-enzymatic chitinase-like proteins are a family of proteins that bind chitin, a polysaccharide encountered in crustaceans and insects. These proteins are implicated in inflammation and immunity and are overexpressed in many human cancer types, making them attractive candidates for therapy. The EU-funded Simecos project has developed natural chitin derivatives extracted from shrimp shells that mimic natural substrates and are not cleaved by mammalian chitinases. These molecules decrease inflammation in tumours and can be used as an adjuvant to chemotherapy. They can also reduce pain and fatigue in patients, significantly improving their quality of life.
Objective
Genis is based in Siglufjördur, a village in the North Iceland traditionally focused on the fishing industry. After the fishery crisis worsen in 2008, Siglufjördur started to pay attention to the marine biotechnology, with Genis at the forefront. Hence, since 2002, we develop health products based in T-ChOS™ (Therapeutic Chitooligosaccharides), which are compounds obtained from chitin extracted from the North Atlantic shrimp exoskeleton. T-ChOS™ show a strong anti-inflammatory effect based in a novel biological pathway discovered by Genis: Inhibition of the YKL-40 chitinase enzyme, whose levels are very high in several diseases as cancer. Our in vitro, in vivo and human studies prove that T-ChOS™ can decrease inflammation and enhance tumour response to chemotherapy. During the Ph1 project, we confirmed the feasibility of developing a nutraceutical based on T-ChOS™ to use as an adjuvant to chemotherapy in cancer patients. In this Ph2 project, we aim to optimise manufacturing, validate through a clinical trial and bring to market SIMECOS: A nutraceutical for cancer patients derived from chitin purified T-ChOS™ molecules. SIMECOS targets lung, breast and pancreatic cancer patients, with survival rates after 5-year of 20%, 82.2% and 5.2%, respectively. SIMECOS is expected to increase their quality of life, thanks to its proven effects to decrease pain and fatigue. The high trends (30%-95%) among cancer patients to use complementary supplements entail a great business opportunity for SIMECOS as in Europe, there are more than 780,000 patients per year diagnosed with breast, pancreatic and lung cancer looking for solutions to decrease chemotherapy side effects and improve the effectiveness of their treatment. Clinically validated SIMECOS will help these patients. We expect SIMECOS to reach the market in 2020. By 2024, after our European expansion, SIMECOS will give a profit of €10.45M and considering a Phase 2 budget of €2.18M the return-on-investment (ROI) will be 9.9
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.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries fisheries
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine rheumatology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology lung cancer
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology pancreatic cancer
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
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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.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
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H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies
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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-2 - SME instrument phase 2
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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-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020
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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.
580 SIGLUFJORDUR
Iceland
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.