Description du projet
Des microparticules polymères pour le traitement de l’ostéoarthrite
L’ostéoarthrite est la forme d’arthrite la plus courante et survient lorsque le cartilage protecteur qui recouvre l’extrémité des os s’use avec le temps; elle affecte des millions de personnes dans le monde. Ce trouble touche le plus souvent les articulations des mains, des genoux, des hanches et de la colonne vertébrale, et entraîne souvent une arthroplastie. Actuellement, la maladie est incurable et seul un traitement symptomatique est disponible. Le projet MEPHOS, financé par l’UE, vise à développer une nouvelle stratégie intégrée pour le traitement de l’ostéoarthrite basée sur le dépôt intra-articulaire de microplaques polymères fournissant simultanément une thérapie pharmacologique à long terme et un soutien mécanique. Les microplaques polymères assureront l’administration continue de médicaments pour gérer la douleur et d’une combinaison de molécules et de substances biologiques, afin de prévenir la dégénérescence des tissus tout en induisant des processus de régénération. Le projet est un effort de collaboration entre sept institutions universitaires et partenaires industriels européens et américains pour améliorer la fabrication et l’évaluation biologique et préclinique.
Objectif
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic disease involving the degeneration of articular cartilage and subchondral bone. It represents the single most common cause of disability in older adults. Being aging, obesity, trauma and gender risk factors for OA, its societal burden is rapidly rising. Across EU, over 40 million people are affected by OA. Current treatment options aim at modulating the symptoms rather than curing this chronic disease. Consequently, joint replacement continues to be ultimately the sole option. In this context, MEPHOS aims at realizing an integrated strategy for OA treatment based on the intra-articular deposition of hydrogel, polymeric microplates (uPLs) that could simultaneously provide a long-term pharmacological action and mechanical support. To this end, the uPL geometry and mechanical properties will be rationally selected to match the viscoelastic behaviour of cartilage and synovial fluid. Over the course of several weeks, uPLs will sustainably release clinically-approved molecules for pain management and novel small molecules and biologicals; including chemokine and metalloproteinase inhibitors to halt tissue degeneration; glycoproteins, growth factors and stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles to favour tissue regeneration. MEPHOS involves three EU Academic Institutions and a SME for uPL fabrication, and four US Academic Institutions for uPL biological and preclinical characterization. Through interdisciplinary and intersectoral secondments, this project will support the training of EU scientists on sophisticated in-vitro assays and three different preclinical OA models; foster the rational development of uPLs; and instil a translational research culture to bridge preclinical-clinical boundaries. The inclusion of a SME and the Stanford SPARK Translation program documents MEPHOS ambition to develop technologies that could hit the clinic and an industrial market, which is predicted to growth from $1.6 billion in 2016 to $3.5 billion by 2026.
Champ scientifique
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MSCA-RISE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE)Coordinateur
16163 Genova
Italie