Objective
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), a neurodegenerative disease of the retina, is a major cause of blindness in elderly people. Due to the aging population, AMD has been referred to as a “time bomb” in society. In the exudative form of AMD, high levels of vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) and low levels of pigment-epithelial derived factor (PEDF), an inhibitor of vascularization and a neuroprotective factor produced by retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells result in subretinal neovascularization and retinal pigment cell degeneration. The current treatment by monthly injections of anti-VEGF antibodies is only effective for ~30% of patients. To avoid the severe side effects, high costs and the overall continuing burden on health care associated with monthly antibody injections, inducing a higher level of PEDF expression to inhibit neovascularization would be a viable therapeutic alternative. TargetAMD will subretinally transplant genetically modified, patient-derived, Iris Pigment Epithelial cells that overexpress PEDF to provide a long-lasting cure of AMD. Stable PEDF gene delivery will be based on the non-viral Sleeping Beauty transposon system, which combines the efficacy of viral delivery with the safety of naked DNA plasmids. Academic scientists and SME partners will produce innovative gene delivery technologies, reagents and devices to be translated into a simple and safe gene therapeutic treatment for exudative AMD. Experienced clinicians will perform one clinical trial, comprising isolation and PEDF-transfection of a patient’s pigment epithelial cells and implantation of transfected cells into the patient during a single, 60-minute surgical session. This project will bring a significant enhancement on quality of life to AMD patients, highlight the synergistic power of academic, clinical and industrial cooperation to the scientific arena, and open new markets for novel products for clinical applications of transposon-based gene therapy to industry.
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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology genetic engineering gene therapy
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine ophthalmology
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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.
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.
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.
FP7-HEALTH-2012-INNOVATION-1
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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.
Coordinator
1211 Geneve
Switzerland
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.