Project description
A novel electrophysiological platform will foster drug discovery for brain diseases
Our knowledge of the brain and its neurons has increased tremendously over the years. Scientists can now analyse events and structures from the molecular scale up to entire brain regions using a variety of techniques. Electrophysiology measures the flow of ions into and out of cells that is associated with synaptic transmission. Recordings of synchronised activity in large populations of cells are quite common. Recordings of individual membrane potential changes in single cells has also become commonplace. However, recording individual activity in thousands of cells simultaneously at high resolution remains elusive. In-Cytes is developing an electrophysiological platform for such high throughput, high-resolution measurement of interconnected activity to spur drug discovery for debilitating brain diseases.
Objective
MaxWell Biosystems AG (MxW) is a Swiss public limited company (AG) who developed electrophysiological platforms (hardware-software-bioassays) for basic research and drug testing on nerve cells. MxW’s aim is to develop In-Cytes, a radically innovative electrophysiology platform to assess neural connectivity for preclinical drug discovery for brain diseases. In contrast to the state-of-the-art technologies for quantifying neural connectivity, which either estimate indirect connectivity or feature poor spatial resolution, In-Cytes can measure physiological direct neural intracellular connectivity among thousands of neurons. This directly addresses the industrial need in pharmacy for neural connectivity bioassays, featuring high-throughput and minimum interference with neurons’ physiology for the development of effective drugs to cure neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
The proposed recruitment of an Innovation Associate will have significant impact on the business opportunities of MxW by bringing in lacking expertise for the development of In-Cytes. The envisaged grant will help to overcome the recruitment barriers of being a relatively unknown, small start-up enterprise that cannot compete with larger companies due to limited visibility, brand awareness, (perceived) career opportunities, salary and recruitment budget.
The development of In-Cytes requires the employment of an academic expert with a multidisciplinary set of skills combining knowledge in neuroscience, microfabrication and data analysis. In turn, the innovation associate will have the opportunity to become an expert in the emerging field of bio-engineering. It is in the interest of the company to continue the employment after the initial year in order to develop the first prototype of In-Cytes into an industrial end product.
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug discovery
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology dementia alzheimer
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology parkinson
- social sciences economics and business business and management employment
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.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.2.3.2.2. - Enhancing the innovation capacity of SMEs
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.
CSA - Coordination and support action
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) H2020-INNOSUP-2018-2020
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
8047 Zurich
Switzerland
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.