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nanotimes EU-Projects

CEA-Leti and 7 Partners to Study ways to Improve Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

CEA-Leti announced a new project designed to deve- lop a novel nanocarrier-based approach to impro- ve the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, and increasingly common condition in Europe.

The Delivering Nano-pharmaceuticals through Biolo- gical Barriers project, known as BIBA, involves eight partners in France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland. BIBA is coordinated by CEA-Leti as part of its re- search program on organic nanocarriers and delivery systems for clinical applications like molecular ima- ging and drug delivery.

The three-year study is designed to develop an anti- inflammatory corticoid and/or an immunosuppres- sant encapsulated within a biodegradable nanocarri- er for improved treatment of IBD and reduced side effects. Industry supervision of the preclinical proof of concept will enhance quality control to guaranty a faster regulatory application after the project.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Medical treatment of IBD is mostly based on the use of corti- costeroid to induce remission and of an immunosup- pressant to prevent relapses. But these approaches are inefficient in more than 70 percent of patients with CD, and 20 percent of the patients with UC who ultimately require surgery for control of the disease. Corticosteroids like prednisolone can indu- ce remission in a high proportion (60-80 percent) of patients.

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The BIBA study is funded by the European pro- gramme ERANET EuroNanoMed. Leti’s partners in the project include:

• Helmholtz-Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland, Saarbrucken, Germany;

• PHAST Gesellschaft für Pharmazeutische Qualitätstandards mbH, Homburg, Germany;

• Institut Albert Bonniot, INSERM-UJF U823, Grenoble, France;

• Two Spanish hospitals: Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Paz, Madrid; and Institut Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Barcelona;

• Institute of Anatomy of the University of Zurich. http://www.cea.fr

e-BRAINS Research Project

Led by Infineon and Fraunhofer EMFT (Fraunhofer Research Institution for Modular Solid State Techno- logies), for the technical management, the European e-BRAINS – Best-Reliable Ambient Intelligent Nano Sensor Systems – research project will run until the end of 2013. Nano-sensors will be combined with other components such as ICs (Integrated Circuits), power semiconductors, batteries or wireless com- munication modules in such a way as to significantly enhance energy efficiency, cost effectiveness, ser- vice life and reliability in the operation of e-BRAINS applications.

Vast improvement in the performance of existing applications in fields such as production monitoring,