Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : Virgil (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Société Max-Planck pour le développement des sciences — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Société Max Planck
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Project Virgil aims to revolutionize single-molecule analysis by developing automated, high-throughput image-to-structure software for scanning probe microscopy (SPM) images. This innovative technology addresses a critical bottleneck in biomolecular research: the low data throughput and time-consuming manual interpretation of SPM images. Building on recent breakthroughs in direct SPM imaging of single biomolecules, Project Virgil aims to create a parallel-computing program to interpret SPM images of individual macrobiomolecules into atomic-level structures. The software aims to be stable, versatile, and scalable, capable of analyzing a wide range of biomolecules up to few hundred thousands of atoms. Key activities include building the base program, implementing parallel computing, developing an IP strategy, and formulating a commercialization plan. Project Virgil main innovation lies in enabling first-time access to many previously inaccessible (bio)chemical structures and providing a single molecule analysis platform that far exceeds current manual capabilities. By enabling high-throughput single-molecule analysis, Project Virgil has significant potential across structural biology, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology sectors, in reducing costs, accelerating drug discovery, and advancing personalized medicine. Project Virgil combines cutting-edge science with strategic commercialization planning, aiming to translate innovative research into a commercially viable product with significant impact on single molecule analysis. This project has the potential to reinforce European technological leadership and open new avenues for tackling important scientific and societal challenges at the single molecule level.
Projet ERC : MIOPIC (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : IE University — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Organismes privés (hors enseignement)
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

The pharma analytics market reached $60B in revenues in 2021 and is expected to grow at a 20% annual rate in the coming years. The data and business intelligence provided by pharma analytics companies around drug sales is of outmost importance for multiple stakeholders in the pharma industry (e.g., manufacturers, distributors, and regulators), who rely on this data for their decision-making. However, this data is becoming increasingly biased and myopic: it only accounts for drug sales from legal pharmacies, overlooking sales from illegal pharmacies. This limitation is becoming more and more problematic since sales from illegal pharmacies (mainly operating online) are growing at a substantive pace. The goal of this PoC is to address this limitation through the development of a web service that will provide data and business analytics on drug sales by Illegal Online Pharmacies (IOPs). This web service will allow potential users to visualize market trends, download data, and develop customized reports on IOPs The goal of this PoC is to develop a web service API that will provide data and business analytics on drug sales by Illegal Online Pharmacies (IOPs) through a web portal. This web service will allow potential users to visualize market trends, download data, and develop customized reports, and will be provided following a pay-per-use commercial structure. While multiple stakeholders in the pharma industry are potentially interested in this data (e.g., manufacturers, distributors, pharma analytics companies, policy-makers, and law enforcement authorities), this data is currently unavailable due to the obscure nature of IOPs’ activities. The web service proposed in this PoC will generate such data through the algorithms designed in the ILLEGALPHARMA ERC-funded project. Accordingly, this PoC outlines the technological and commercial processes that will be implemented to transform the research generated in ILLEGALPHARMA into a business innovation with market potential.
Projet ERC : FibroTarg (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : University Hospital Aachen — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UKA
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive disease that is prevalent in 10% of the developed world and develops as a result of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, glomerulonephritis or acute kidney injury. Over time, CKD can progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD); a condition that can only be treated through hemodialysis or kidney transplantation, posing a severe medical, societal and economic challenge. Fibrosis is recognized as a key pathological mechanism in CKD, responsible for slowly destroying the tissue architecture of the kidney. Current therapies for CKD alleviate symptoms of the disease by controlling hypertension and hyperglycemia, but, while fibrosis is as a promising therapeutic target, no antifibrotic therapy for the kidney have reached the clinic. Hence, there is an urgent need for disease-modifying and curative treatments that can halt fibrosis. In FibroTarg we will assess the technical and commercial feasibility of Fibrolisine, a first-of-its-kind anti-fibrotic drug candidate, for the treatment of CKD. Our preliminary data has confirmed a unique expression profile of our therapeutic target and reduced fibrosis onset in in vivo knockout models without side-effects after kidney injury. Hence, Fibrolisine is expected to target the process of fibrogenesis and halt the progression to ESRD in early-stage CKD patients. Through the activities in FibroTarg project, we aim to demonstrate the antifibrotic potential of Fibrolisine in advanced human kidney fibrosis organoid models and in vivo models of kidney injury. Concurrently, we will investigate the commercial potential of Fibrolisine by analyzing the commercial landscape and develop an initial commercialization strategy.
Projet ERC : END-BC (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : University Hospital Aachen — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UKA
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Breast cancer (BC) is the most diagnosed cancer worldwide, and despite treatment availability, the disease remains challenging to treat, causing substantial adverse side effects and fatalities globally. The lack of efficacy and inaccessibility of standard care supports this demand for better treatments. This is demonstrated by resection surgery and current (neo)adjuvant therapies such as chemotherapy exhibiting inadequacies resulting in 30% of BC patients having metastases. These percentages are even higher in low human index regions due to inaccessibility, cost and growing populations. Adoptive cell therapy (ACT), such as CAR-T, is a category of emerging immunotherapies expected to impact oncology by transferring engineered immune cells into a patient to eliminate cancer cells. However, these treatments are currently ineffective in BC and costly. END-BC will complement research into B cells to produce an ACT that improves treatment efficacy against breast cancer while reducing side effects and costs from effective therapy. Our research developed novel biomaterial to overcome significant obstacles to successfully enhance B cell functions against cancer using a low-cost method. In END-BC, we will research the commercial and technical feasibility of tailoring the B cell ACT with biomaterials to determine its potential to treat BC.
Projet ERC : ARACHNID (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Biogenera spa — Pays : Italie — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Organismes privés (hors enseignement)
Financement ERC de l'entité : 25000.0 €

Despite the improvements in cancer treatments, diagnostic tools and prevention/early detection strategies, cancer is still a major public health burden as one of the 6 leading causes of death worldwide. In 2020, 90% of the 10 million deaths registered out of 19.3 million new cancer diagnoses were associated not with primary tumors but with the secondary ones generated by the metastatic process. The complex time-dependent chain of events and cascades of biophysical and biochemical factors regulating tumor metastasis cannot be replicated using conventional in vitro cell models (such as transwell invasion and scratch/wound healing assays) nor in vivo animal models. The scientific and medical communities are striving to better understand the steps of metastatic spreading to devise strategies to stop its occurrence, especially in pediatric oncology, as in the case of Neuroblastoma, the most common and difficult to treat among tumors of preschool age (15% of pediatric oncology deaths). To solve these limitations we propose ARACHNID, a unique, multiplexed, automated, and increased-throughput multi-organ on a-chip platform conceived around the complex process of cancer metastatic spread. The project's potential for breakthrough innovation resides in its unique capabilities, promising to accelerate research, reduce costs, and contribute to the development of more effective cancer treatments. The ARACHNID project aims to explore and prove the technical-commercial potential of our proprietary tumor-metastasis-on-a-chip (TMOC) platform, starting from pediatric tumors and extending the application to adult cancers, involving Biogenera, biotechnological SME operating the pharma NB domain, as a testbed and early adopter.
Projet ERC : APOLLON (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de St Andrews — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

APOLLON aims to develop a novel solar-cell-based optical neural network (ONN) designed for real-time, energy-efficient environmental monitoring and object recognition. By leveraging solar cells as both sensors and network nodes, the ONN eliminates the need for conventional cameras and external power sources, significantly reducing energy consumption and system complexity. The integration of metasurfaces enhances the system’s optical sensitivity and spectral selectivity, enabling more accurate detection and classification of objects based on light patterns and colours. This innovative approach allows for scalable, self-powered sensor networks capable of continuous operation in remote and hard-to-reach locations. By addressing the challenges of energy consumption, scalability, and real-time data processing, this project aims to deliver a transformative solution that meets the growing demand for sustainable, cost-effective environmental monitoring and establishes a foundation for future commercialization and global deployment.
Projet ERC : NEUROGUT (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Technion - Institut de technologie d'Israël — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are a group of chronic inflammatory conditions affecting the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, including Crohn’s and Ulcerative colitis. The prevalence of IBD has been increasing globally and almost doubled from 3.7 million in 1990 to 6.8 million in 2017, with the highest prevalence rates observed in Europe and North America (422 cases per 100,000 population). Patients with IBD suffer from chronic relapsing abdominal pain, urgency and incontinence, and depending on the severity of their presentation, are at risk of developing acute life-threatening complications (e.g., severe bleeding, fulminant colitis, perforation). Although these conditions primarily affect the GI tract, other organ systems, such as the eyes, skin, musculoskeletal system, and lungs, hepatobiliary and hematologic function might be affected as well. As of today, the etiology of the disease is largely unknown, and the current available treatments are limited in their efficiency and accompanied by significant side effects. These treatments largely target inflammatory mediators to suppress excess inflammation. These can include general immunosuppression such as high-dose corticosteroids, or more specific biological agents (e.g., anti-TNF). Patients with IBD are dependent on the lifelong administration of immunosuppressive drugs, exposing them to multiple adverse effects ranging from systemic infections to metabolic dysregulation and even cancer. Taken together, this is a systemic disease that affects many physiological systems and has a strong emotional component (). Yet, treatment with immune suppressive drugs can only alleviate some symptoms and cannot treat the source of the disease nor its broad systemic manifestations.
Projet ERC : BioForceInk (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Technion - Institut de technologie d'Israël — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

3D bioprinting is an emerging technique that offers promise for fabricating implantable tissues. Despite significant advancements, the field struggles to replicate the mechanical robustness and biological complexity of native tissues, particularly in applications requiring high mechanical strength such as bone. This proposal introduces 'BioForceInk,' a bioactive reinforcing bioink designed for direct bioprinting alongside a cell-laden hydrogel within a cell-conductive environment. The microparticle-based bioink is printable at room temperature and solidifies at 37°C, forming a stiff, porous scaffold within the construct. Our preliminary studies demonstrated its excellent printability, mechanical properties, and osteoconductive capabilities in a hybrid bioprinting context. To enhance vascularized bone differentiation in vitro and support bioprinted implant integration and bone recovery in vivo, the bioink will be enriched with osteogenic and vasculogenic factors. Throughout this project, we aim to develop the growth factor-loaded BioForceInk and utilize it for creating vascularized bone implants by hybrid bioprinting in tandem with cell-laden soft bioink. We will then evaluate the regenerative potential of the bioprinted vascularized bone implants in a critical-size bone loss model. Additionally, we plan to test the technology with industrial partners and prepare it for commercialization by the end of the project. BioForceInk offers a unique combination of mechanical support and biological activity that facilitates the single-step fabrication of physiologically relevant bone implants. This innovation has the potential to significantly narrow the gap between bioprinting technology and clinical application, contributing to the development of personalized, mechanically robust, and biologically functional bone implants. With its tunable properties, BioForceInk could be further adapted for bioprinting of various tissues, reflecting its broad potential across the field.
Projet ERC : SM-ProTrack (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Technion - Institut de technologie d'Israël — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Protein molecule sensing techniques are currently hampered by detection limits and require large samples to achieve acceptable levels of sensitivity, bias, throughput, cost, and time to result. Leveraging findings from our NanoProt-ID (ADG ERC), in SM-ProTrack we will develop a novel single-molecule sensing method with unprecedented levels of detail and accuracy. This technology is based on the separation of molecules using silicon nano-channels on a chip, tracking of single molecules, and high-precision identification using AI algorithms. Thus, the technology allows detection of multiplexed, full-length single proteins, from extremely small sample volumes, in a low-cost, portable device. Here, to advance the clinical relevancy of the technology and build specific commercial value, we will apply it towards Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) sensing based on liquid biopsy. AMD represents 90% of cases of legal blindness globally, affecting ~200 million people’s life quality. To date, a quantitative sensing of AMD biomarkers, has not been possible due to the extremely small volumes of the clinical eye-derived aqueous humour (AH) sample and low abundance of the AMD biomarkers. In collaboration with a leading AMD ophthalmologist, SM-ProTrack will advance the technology to proof-of-principle validation, hence building a solid commercialization case while addressing an unmet global need. SM-ProTrack will pave the way for a low-cost, highly sensitive technology for single protein molecule sensing, that can provide rapid and accurate results from dilute and small clinical sample volumes with minimal biases. Validated in the field of AMD biomarkers, our technology can be further applied in many other liquid biopsy diagnostics fields.
Projet ERC : StreamlineValve (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Technion - Institut de technologie d'Israël — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Prosthetic Heart Valves (HV), both biological (BHV) and mechanical (MHV), have improved the survival rate and the quality of life of valvular heart-disease patients over the last six decades. While BHVs, taken from animal tissue, show improved hemodynamics, their durability is limited, whereas MHVs can last a patient's entire lifetime but require lifetime anticoagulation medication to reduce thrombotic complications. Future Polymeric HVs (PHV) hold the potential for enhanced durability compared to BHVs, while potentially avoiding the necessity for anticoagulation therapy that MHVs demand. However, the problem of flow-related thrombosis in PHVs remains a critical challenge. Generally, flow-related thrombosis complications can be avoided by altering the flow field around the PHV, such as reducing vortices and circulatory hemodynamic structures as well as decreasing shear stresses which can lead to platelet activation. Inspired by passive flow control in nature and in the aerodynamics industry, where manipulation of fluid flow via a small configuration change provides large engineering benefits in swimming or flying, we aim to use a flow control strategy to optimize blood flow through PHVs. More specifically, in StreamlineValve, we present a new, patented, PHV that is designed to alter the flow field around the valve in a manner that reduces the primary factors contributing to coagulation on PHVs. We have already successfully demonstrated this concept in vitro in a modified MHV. In this PoC, we propose to extend this to the future of prosthetic valves via a flow controlled PHV that can be implanted via a simple transcatheter procedure avoiding undesired surgical procedures. Altogether, StreamlineValve represents a paradigm shift in the realm of prosthetic HVs, offering the potential to enhance valve longevity, quality of life, and patient safety.
Projet ERC : GlobalPROTECT (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Immunediscover sweden ab — Pays : Suède — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : IDS
Type d'entité : Organismes privés (hors enseignement)
Financement ERC de l'entité : 105000.0 €

As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has demonstrated, vaccines that provide broad global protection are needed. However, human antibody genes are highly variable and thus, the quality of vaccine-induced responses can vary between population groups. This variation is shaped by the long history of host/disease interactions and differences in endemic diseases between regions over time, resulting in differences in antibody allele frequencies between populations. Therefore, information about how naïve antibody repertoires representing diverse population groups recognize vaccine candidates would greatly improve the development of broadly protective vaccines. In this Proof-of-Concept grant, we will develop a technique, Global-Ig, which allows in vitro production of large antibody libraries from a database of antibody germline gene variants representing the range of human global variation observed in the major population groups of the world, which we have assembled as part of our ongoing ERC Advanced project. Libraries representing different population groups will be used to prospectively identify differences in B cell recognition of candidate vaccines to facilitate selection of vaccine antigens that are broadly recognized. In cases where suboptimal binding to a vaccine antigen is detected for one or more population groups, the antigen can be modified to better accommodate population-specific alleles. Importantly, prospective screening against population-based antibody libraries in vitro offers possibilities to identify antigens that are broadly recognized prior to advancing candidates to clinical trials, substantially reducing costs associated with clinical development and improving health equity. Thus, the population-based Global-Ig antibody library technique described here represents an opportunity to harness information about human antibody germline gene variation gained in our ongoing ERC Advanced grant to select and tailor vaccine candidates for a global market.
Projet ERC : ELIDIS (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Istituto Nazionale Biostrutture e Biosistemi — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : INBB
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Since its introduction more than 50 years ago, ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) remains one of the most widely used technologies for research, drug discovery and diagnosis. The reasons for this extraordinary longevity are manifold: ELISA combines the high specificity of antibody-antigen interactions with the high sensitivity of enzyme amplification. However, ELISA also has disadvantages: multiple washing steps and reagents are required and a specialized instrument is needed, which is not always available in all laboratories. An innovative immunoassay technology that can overcome the limitations of ELISA while retaining all of its best features would therefore represent a turning point in the global immunoassay market (> $35 billion in 2023).  Under the ERC Consolidator Grant PRO-TOOLKITS, we have developed a novel immunoassay, which we have named Enzyme-Linked DNA Displacement (ELIDIS), which has all the characteristics to meet this need and become an alternative to ELISA. In short, ELIDIS involves 2 steps and is based on the use of enzyme-conjugated DNA strands and disposable electrodes. ELIDIS retains the advantageous properties of ELISA (high sensitivity and specificity) but, unlike ELISA, is easier to perform, does not require enzyme-labeled antibodies and, more importantly, can be performed using portable electronic devices such as a laptop or smartphone without the need for additional instruments.  With these considerations in mind, in this PoC project we will validate the ELIDIS assay as a candidate to replace ELISA in any biotech and biopharma laboratory. To achieve the above goal, we will: 1) Validate the ELIDIS assay for the detection of two model targets (Trastuzumab and EGFR); 2) Develop two prototype kits using disposable sensor arrays and a portable device (or an app/software). 3) Create a “manufacturing plan” for assay production; 4) Develop an IP strategy for patent filing/maintenance; 5) Create a plan for business/commercialization.