The COVID-19 outbreak and its fast spread has catalysed the development of novel treatments, drugs and vaccines. Biotech start-ups and researchers have been exploring ways to handle diseases that can be produced by this family of viruses. Discover the EIC beneficiaries that are developing new treatments, drug platforms and products on this domain, from research and testing, to commercial release.
Unique drug to eradicate multiple viral species: NOVIRUSES2BRAIN is a project that aims at finding and selecting drug leads that are able to translocate the blood-placental and blood-brain barriers so that Zika, Dengue, Chikungunya and viruses such COVID-19 can be targeted across barriers, including during pregnancy. The project gathers the expertise of medicinal chemists, biochemists, drug development specialists and virologists to create drug leads able to clear all viral species from the brain simultaneously.
EU Contribution: 3 933 965 €
Country: Portugal
FET PROACTIVE / Coordinator: INSTITUTO DE MEDICINA MOLECULAR JOAO LOBO ANTUNES
Allergen immunotherapy products: People with asthma or allergic asthma may be at higher risk with COVID-19 because the virus can affect the respiratory tract. The biopharmaceutical company Desetum has developed a platform technology for creating modified hypo allergens that actually change the way the immune system reacts to allergens. It is based on making small, highly targeted modifications to allergen proteins that reduce their ability to trigger allergic reactions during treatment without compromising their efficacy in building tolerance to natural allergens.
EU Contribution: 1.885.000 €
Country: Finland
Drug development platform: Signia Therapeutics is offering a disruptive solution to combat emerging infections globally. The start-up developed a drug development platform for next-generation antimicrobial treatments, by repurposing ready-marketed drugs and repositioning unsuccessful pharma pipelines candidates. The innovation will not only give rise to better treatments against respiratory infections, but also will enable both a rapid transition of drugs from the pipeline to the market and a rapid return of investment for pharma.
EU Contribution: 2.382.284 €
Country: France
Novel drugs and diagnostic methods: AROMICS is a biotech company committed to the discovery and development of novel drugs and diagnostic methods to target relevant human diseases. The company is focused on identifying, selecting and validating novel molecular biomarkers and applying them to develop novel therapies against identified therapeutic targets, produce diagnostic tools to monitor drug response and predict efficacy, toxicity and safety profiles of novel and existing drugs with greater accuracy.
EU Contribution: 1.085.660 €
Country: Spain
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.