Project description
SmartHeart: 3D heart model to aid drug discovery
During the drug discovery process, drugs under development are initially tested on animal models. However, there is an overall consensus to reduce animal experiments as much as possible, replacing them with in vitro models of disease. With this in mind, the EU-funded SmartHeart project is working on an innovative 3D in vitro cardiac assay that employs induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes grown in a microstructured gel. The SmartHeart assay will allow the qualitative and quantitative measurement of several cardiac parameters as well as the sub-cellular structure observation via high resolution imaging techniques. The technology will be available in multi-well format suitable for high throughput screening processes.
Objective
Currently, animal models are still widely used in the pre-clinical stage of drug development to mimic human diseases or predict the human body’s response to candidate drugs. However, their use should be minimized as much as possible due to ethical issues and since only 9.6% of drugs entering phase I of clinical trials end up being commercialized. Therefore, the goal of this action is to develop a novel proprietary 3D in vitro cardiac assay. The SmartHeart will retrieve several of the most important read-outs commonly assessed to study the impact of drugs at the cardiac level in the pre-clinical phase. The all in one assay will be based on a microstructured gel where cardiac cells, as cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells will be cultured. The SmartHeart will answer to the shortcomings of academic and commercial available in vitro assays, by enabling the qualitative and quantitative measurement of several parameters, as contractility and Calcium transients. Simultaneously, the assay will enable sub-cellular structure observation via high-resolution imaging techniques. Furthermore, the 3D nature of the assay will contribute to the efficient maturation of the induced CMs, which is still a limiting factor when not using cardiac human cells, but rather induced CMs, in in vitro assays. The ultimate aim of the project is to make this device available to screening platforms, e.g. Pharma or CROs. The technology will be implemented in multiwell plates compatible with the standards of HTS/HCS and will be available to early-users, from whom feedback will be acquired, enabling to fine tune the specifications of the final device. This project will meet the best of the ER competences in physics, with the expertise of 4Dcell in 3Dcell culture systems. With this project, the ER will reach a level of maturity on several technological, managerial and industrial aspects providing her a new career angle and put her a step closer to act as a leader in research.
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
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry alkaline earth metals
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
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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.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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-MSCA-IF-2019
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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.
93100 Montreuil
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.