Project description
Nanotechnology for stroke management
Stroke is a big socioeconomic burden affecting millions of individuals worldwide and is usually caused by blood clots. Current treatment options include the dissolution of clots using tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) (thrombolysis) or the physical removal of a clot (thrombectomy). The scope of the EU-funded RESOLVE project is to improve the administration and efficacy of tPA by encapsulating it in well-characterised nanoconstructs. This approach has a safer profile and improves the circulation and activity of the thrombolytic drug. Researchers are also working to improve the biodegradation and excretion profile of these nanoconstructs, paving the way for an improved strategy for stroke management.
Objective
Acute ischemic strokes result from the occlusion of cerebral vessels by blood clots causing neurological complications, brain damage and death. Based on WHO reports, stroke affects 17M people per year worldwide, with 6M deaths and 5M survivors suffering long-lasting disabilities. Recent statistics estimate an EU direct healthcare cost for stroke of €20B and indirect costs, due to disabilities and lost productivity, of €25B. The two current treatments – thrombolysis and thrombectomy – come with limitations and considerable side effects. Thrombolysis can be safely administered only to a small cohort of patients (about 5%) whereas thrombectomy induces disabilities in 50% of the cases. Moved by the societal, economical, and emotional burden associated with stroke, this proposal aims at developing and validating more effective and less toxic therapies via the combination of the clinically approved molecule tPA and rationally-designed, discoidal polymeric nanoconstructs (DPNs). As compared to tPA, the proposed thrombolytic nano-agents (tPA-DPNs) are expected to provide faster blood clot dissolution; safer administration profile; longer blood circulation and stability. On the technical side, tPA-DPNs will be re-designed to improve their biodegradation and excretion profiles; validated in FDA-recognized stroke models for neurotoxicity and therapeutic efficacy. On the commercial side, a patent portfolio covering the fabrication and utilization of tPA-DPNs will be secured, together with thorough market and business analyses. This will facilitate the interaction with pharmaceutical companies that are investing in the fast growing markets of high-tech drug delivery systems and stroke diagnostics and therapies. tPA-DPNs are expected to alleviate the economic burden on healthcare systems, increase the total sale of thrombolytic agents, revolutionize the medical protocols for stroke management, and diminish the societal and emotional impact of stroke.
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.
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology stroke
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
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.
16163 Genova
Italy
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.