Project description
Harnessing biofuel by-products to combat multiple viral families
Emerging viruses present a growing threat to global health, putting both human and animal populations at risk. To address this, efficient approaches to antiviral development are needed to target multiple viral families simultaneously. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the BIOVIRAL project will harness biofuel by-products, specifically jojobyl alcohols, as a foundation for creating broad-spectrum antivirals. Combining molecular biology and computational simulations, BIOVIRAL will explore how these bio-based molecules interact with viral components and cellular functional groups. This approach will accelerate the discovery process and minimise reliance on traditional, resource-intensive methods. Focusing on the Zika virus and the monkeypox virus, BIOVIRAL will pioneer a scalable antiviral strategy adaptable to diverse viral families.
Objective
The increasing frequency of pandemics caused by emerging viruses poses a major global health challenge. Currently, no broad-spectrum antivirals exist that can target multiple viral families simultaneously, and the demand extends beyond human health to animal viruses.
Developing new antivirals is costly and time-consuming, making theoretical models essential to predict drug behavior, efficacy, and interactions. These tools reduce costs, shorten timelines, and minimize the need for animal testing. BIOVIRAL combines experimental research with advanced simulations to develop effective antivirals against two diverse pathogens: Zika Virus (ZIKV) and Monkeypox Virus (MPXV). Both represent risk-emergent threats with outbreak potential. The project will uncover the mechanisms of action of a newly engineered antiviral family derived from biofuel by-products, jojobyl alcohols (JA). Simulations will explore how these bio-based molecules interact with viral structures and cellular functional groups.
Promising candidates will undergo in vitro testing to assess cytotoxicity and antivirial efficacy against ZIKV and MPXV. Through these assays, BIOVIRAL will also determine whether JA targets viral entry, replication, morphogenesis, or budding. These experiments will generate key insights into the antiviral potential of JA. Additionally, the project introduces an optimized bio-based extraction method that improves efficiency and reproducibility over current approaches. Designed to be versatile and broadly applicable across viral families, this strategy maximizes translational potential.
Ultimately, BIOVIRAL pioneers a novel methodology for antiviral development using a combination of biomass-based derivative with molecular biology and computational simulations which will reduce animal testing and offering a transformative, state-of-the-art approach to future global health threats.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health epidemiology pandemics
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry alcohols
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antivirals
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology
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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)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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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.
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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.
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-SE-01
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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.
1433 As
Norway
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.