Project description
Making CAR-T-based treatments accessible to more patients with cancer
Chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-T cells) are manufactured from patient’s own T cells and, as such, are engineered weapons against cancer, with theoretically limitless potential. However, the high cost of CAR-T-based treatments remains an inhibitive factor for their large-scale implementation in healthcare. The EU-funded Lakhesys project will introduce a highly innovative microfluidic chip that will fundamentally change the CAR-T industry, along with equipment to optimise its use. This tool will provide a significantly lower production cost, ensure the improvement of treatment quality and allow the increase of treatment volumes to the required levels. Lakhesys innovative system aspires to offer a unique European solution for life-changing therapies.
Objective
Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapies (‘CAR-T’) are ushering in an incredibly exciting era of using a patient’s own cells to cure their cancer. The prospect of using a patient’s own cells to cure their disease is theoretically limitless. However, with all of this excitement comes a shadow. The cost of these life-saving treatments is currently so prohibitive that it threatens to put extreme cost-pressure on healthcare providers globally in the years ahead.
Astraveus has developed a highly innovative microfluidic chip that can fundamentally change the CAR-T industry. This chip answers the need to lower production cost (by ~70%), improve treatment quality and allow upscaling of treatment volumes to the required levels. Astraveus has also developed equipment to optimize the use of these microfluidic chips. They have incorporated these technologies into a working prototype of an instrument called ‘Lakhesys’. This instrument allows for automated, standalone, end-to-end production of a CAR-T therapy.
The design, fabrication and validation of the microfluidic innovation is a real breakthrough in the ability to cheaply and accurately produce these treatments. The further step of incorporating these chips into a prototype system demonstrates the huge potential for automating CAR-T production. This phase-2 project will upgrade the supporting modules to turn this working prototype into a launch-ready product. It will also support the validation and industrialisation steps to bring this innovation to market.
The industry is dominated by players in the USA and China (72% of CAR-T institutions are based in these two countries). Astraveus has invented something incredibly unique and a complete step-change versus anything seen on the market. As such, we present an opportunity to support the creation of a homegrown EU business that can challenge the status quo and, more importantly, put these life-saving therapies in the hands of all patients who need them.
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.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
75010 Paris
France
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.