A new EU-funded laboratory in Romania has given researchers a head start in applying the insights of supramolecular chemistry to biomedical applications such as gene therapy, tissue engineering and drug delivery.
EU-funded researchers have conducted the first successful trials of an innovative gene therapy to treat a rare and debilitating metabolic disorder, using a small and innocuous virus as a carrier for genetic information to correct the functioning of liver and muscle cells.
EU-funded researchers are close to developing a cure for Crigler-Najjar syndrome, an extremely rare, life-threatening liver disease. The groundbreaking research, currently being validated in clinical trials, could also pave the way for the treatment of other genetic disorders.
Tissue engineering is used to grow alternatives to donor tissue, but getting this tissue to integrate in patients has previously proved complicated. An EU-funded project addressed this problem by developing an innovative modular approach to engineering complex tissues with different cell types.
An EU- and industry-funded project has identified potential biomarkers that could indicate how likely a drug is to cause cancer at an earlier stage of testing than is currently possible, which could save drug companies time and money - and lead to safer drugs reaching patients faster.
Europe has identified the need for a central, standardised stem cell repository providing researchers with access to quality controlled cell lines and data for future drug development. EU and industry funding helped this new bio-bank facility establish initial operations and create a 'foundational collection'.
An EU-funded project has generated new insights into the causes and development of rheumatoid arthritis, directing efforts towards earlier detection, prevention and the idea of inducing tolerance to this chronic and debilitating disease. Follow-up reearch includes new studies to further explore this 'tolerance' challenge and progress on a new antibody detecting device.
