Description du projet
Le cancer de l’estomac dompté par une capsule orale photoactivée
La découverte en 2005 du fait que presque tous les cas d’ulcères gastro-duodénaux étaient causés par une espèce bactérienne jusqu’alors inconnue, Helicobacter pylori, a valu la même année le prix Nobel de physiologie ou de médecine. Nous savons maintenant que cette bactérie est également responsable de la plupart des cancers gastriques, et qu’elle est très difficile à éliminer avec des antibiotiques. Le projet Capsulight, financé par l’UE, aide la PME italienne PROBIOMEDICA à développer une thérapie pionnière brevetée qui repose sur une capsule orale et son activation par la lumière. Par rapport à l’efficacité estimée à 70 % des antibiotiques, les résultats préliminaires suggèrent qu’elle est efficace à près de 100 % pour la destruction des bactéries; elle pourrait donc être la solution qui permettra d’éradiquer le cancer de l’estomac.
Objectif
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a bacterium of the stomach which affects on average 50% of the world population, reaching up to 70% in some European Countries. Once it is diagnosed, it has to be eradicated, since it is a carcinogen agent and around 90% of all gastric cancers can be attributable to its infection. The only available treatment is a pharmacological therapy based on the assumption of proton-pump inhibitor and a mix of 2-3 antibiotic drugs. Unfortunately, due to increasing antibiotic resistance, up to 30% of the affected population cannot be cured, despite several cycles of antibiotic therapy and usually endoscopic biopsy to determine antibiotic-resistance. Probiomedica is a spin-off of the University of Florence and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna specialized in photobiology and robotics applied to medicine, which has developed and patented CapsuLight, the first ingestible capsule able to eradicate H. Pylori infection through intragastric photodynamic therapy, that is through the power of light. The device is based on the established technology and safety of endoscopic capsules for diagnostic use, and our preliminary in vitro tests showed 97% efficacy in killing the bacterium. The advantages for infected population are unparalleled: the possibility to eradicate the bacterium for those who cannot be cured due to antibiotic resistance (our first target market); the higher efficacy rate, no side effects due to antibiotic cycles, and easy posology for all the infected population (secondary market). CapsuLight will also provide high economic savings to National Healthcare Systems, by reducing drug therapies cycles and endoscopic biopsies and related costs for hospitalization. Probiomedica has already presented the product to several gastroenterology and microbiology centers and will optimize the capsule design for further miniaturization and mass production, and to undergo the necessary clinical validation for getting the CE mark during the Phase 2 project.
Champ scientifique
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriology
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsantibiotics
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistanceantibiotic resistance
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinephysiologyhomeostasis
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinegastroenterology
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinateur
50124 FIRENZE
Italie
L’entreprise s’est définie comme une PME (petite et moyenne entreprise) au moment de la signature de la convention de subvention.