The overall progress beyond the state of art will be:
Impact on advancing the field of immune cell imaging
1. The project will deliver a systematic immunotracer generation platform. To ensure that the platform endures beyond Immune-Image, we are about to spin-out a service providing company.
2. Ready-to-use set of validated PET and OI tracers will be produced. Additionally, MRI approaches to assess immunotherapy will be developed. Several patent applications were submitted to secure future sustainable use of the results of Immune-Image.
3. Immune-Image has produced regulatory acceptable standardised protocols with validated immune-imaging approaches.
Advancing clinical and healthcare practice, improving European citizens' health and wellbeing, and making these sustainable
Immune-Image will provide insights into the immunological status of individual patients, which will lead to prediction of response to therapeutic interventions and provide insights into individual therapy responses. The patient will benefit with optimised therapies, increased safety and prevention of unnecessary side effects. First results are published with our new optical imaging tracer in a high ranked journal [4].
Boost & optimise drug discovery
Immunotracers resulting from Immune-Image have found application in clinical trials. First results are published, the other studies are still on-going. There, the immunotracers are used to visualise and quantify the impact of immunotherapy on specific targets and immunological pathways, thereby reducing ambiguity in the evaluation of immunotherapy efficacy. This will lead to a reduction in the duration and costs of drug development and attract clinical research of pharmaceutical companies with new immune therapies in the EU.
Impact on basic & translational research
Immune-Image generated the first academic demonstration study, and several more will follow which will lead to opportunities for the development of novel therapeutic interventions. The project results will enable and facilitate R&D activities relevant to other diseases that have an immunological component. Finally, within Immune-Image new scientists will be trained who will drive future research in the field.
Strengthening competitiveness and industrial leadership and addressing specific societal challenges
1. The immunotracer development platform has been used for addressing additional immune system-driven healthcare challenges. This will result in the creation of new jobs and attract additional private investments.
2. Immune-Image has facilitated trans-disciplinary and trans-sectoral collaboration, which will boost the development of appropriate business models and generate the desired economic and employment impact at a global level.
3. Support European industrial leadership to successfully compete in the immunotherapy market worldwide.
4. We will actively reach out to European SMEs that focus on immunotherapy drug development to involve them within Immune-Image.
5. Support economic growth of industry by reducing unnecessary costs, e.g. visualisation and quantification of the impact of therapy on specific sites and pathways is expected to decrease ambiguity in the evaluation of treatment efficacy in early stage clinical trials.
6. Increase awareness of the benefits that molecular imaging with immunotracers can create for patients and for all EU citizens.
