Voorbeelden van EU gefinancieerd onderzoek naar neuroziektes zoals Alzheimer (en)
MEMO/09/347
Brussels, 22 July 2009
Examples of EU-funded research on neurodegenerative diseases
This background note provides some examples of research on neurodegenerative diseases supported through the EU's Research Framework Programme.
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1)Research on Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in the EU (between 50 and 70% of all dementia). Dementia is a decline in mental ability that usually progresses slowly, in which memory, thinking, and judgement are impaired and personality may deteriorate. It usually develops slowly, and affects mainly people aged over 60. It is one of the most important causes of disability in the elderly.
PROMEMORIA
The PROMEMORIA project investigates the function of small molecules that participate in the process of memory formation by helping neurons interact with each other. The ultimate goal is to develop compounds with a beneficial effect on diseases involving cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer's.
Coordinator
Prof. Elisabeth Bock
University of Copenhagen
Institute of Molecular Pathology
Copenhagen, Denmark
E-mail: bock@plab.ku.dk
EC contribution: €9 700 000
Starting date: 01/04/2005
Duration: 48 months
Project web-site: http://plab.ku.dk/promemoria/
Partners:
Participant name |
Country |
University of Copenhagen |
Denmark |
The Provost, Fellows and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elisabeth near Dublin |
Ireland |
Institute of Neurology – University College London |
United Kingdom |
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique |
France |
Naturwissenschaftliches und Medizinisches Institut an der Universität Tübingen |
Germany |
University of Geneva, Medical Faculty |
Switzerland |
The OPEN UNIVERSITY |
UK |
Instituto Cajal, Consejo, Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas |
Spain |
Medizinische Hochschule Hannover |
Germany |
International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology |
Poland |
Lund University |
Sweden |
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne |
Switzerland |
University of Haifa |
Israel |
ENKAM Pharmaceuticals A/S |
Denmark |
NeuroPharma S.A.U. |
Spain |
Schafer-N |
Denmark |
University of Tartu |
Estonia |
ADIT
The ADIT project wants to identify new molecules capable of reducing the mortality of neurons (the neuroprotectants) in Alzheimer's disease. The ultimate goal is to put the identified molecules in an efficient drug discovery pipeline and bring two drug candidates to the clinic.
Coordinator :
Dr. Georg C. Terstappen
Siena Biotech S.p.A.
Discovery Research Division
Siena, Italy
E-mail: gterstappen@sienabiotech.com
EC contribution: € 7 485 490
Starting date: 01/06/2005
Duration: 60 months
Project web-site: http://www.aditproject.org/
Partners:
Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED
EDAR
The objective of the EDAR study is to develop ultra-sensitive tests to measure beta amyloid oligomers – the molecules believed to be responsible for Alzheimer's disease – in Alzheimer's patients . The ultimate goal is to obtain a test that not only provides an early diagnosis of Alzheimer's, but can also assess if a patient is responding properly to a treatment or not.
Coordinator
Dr Pieter Jelle Visser
Vrije Universiteit Medisch Centrum
Alzheimer Centre Department of Neurology
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
E-mail: pj.visser@vumc.nl
EC contributi on: € 621 002
Starting date: 01/01/2007
Duration: 36 months
Project web-site: http://www.edarstudy.eu/
Partners:
Participant name |
Country |
Vereniging voor Christelijk Hoger Onderwijs Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek en P atientenzorg |
The Netherlands |
Chimera Biotech GmbH |
Germany |
Hycult biotechnology b.v |
The Netherlands |
Academisch Medisch Centrum bij de Universiteit van Amsterdam |
The Netherlands |
Karolinska Institutet |
Sweden |
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki |
Greece |
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven |
Belgium |
Region Hovedstaden |
Denmark |
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich |
Germany |
University of Maastricht |
The Netherlands |
Abbott GmbH& Co.KG |
Germany |
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2)Research on Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is characterized by problems with body movements (tremor at rest, slowing of voluntary movements, muscle weakness etc). It is the second most prevalent of all neurodegenerative diseases after Alzheimer's.
NEuroStemCell
The NEuroStemCell consortium aims at paving the way for successful clinical trials of stem cell therapy for Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. Stem cells have the capacity, when cultured properly, to acquire the same properties as other cell types, including neurones. The goal of the project is to compare different stem cell sources and see which one is the most suitable to replace the neurones that are lost in these two diseases.
Coordinator
Prof. Elena Cattaneo
University of Milano
Department of Pharmacological Sciences and Centre for Stem
Cell Research
Milan, Italy
E-mail: elena.cattaneo@unimi.it
EC contribution: € 11 900 000
Starting date: 01/12/2008
Duration: 48 months
Project web-site: http://www.neurostemcell.org/
Partners:
Participant name |
Country |
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO |
Italy |
LUNDS UNIVERSITET |
Sweden |
UNIVERSITAETSKLINIKUM BONN |
Germany |
KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET |
Sweden |
CARDIFF UNIVERSITY |
United Kingdom |
COMMISSARIAT ENERGIE ATOMIQUE CEA |
France |
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE |
United Kingdom |
INSERM |
France |
IMPERIAL COLLEGE |
United Kingdom |
BIOREP SRL |
Italy |
NsGene A/S |
Denmark |
Stem Cell Sciences PLC |
United Kingdom |
INDABIP
The INDABIP project wants to identify small molecules (biomarkers) that would permit the early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and that could therefore be used to develop better diagnostic tests. The second aim of the INDABIP project is to identify molecules playing a key role in the disease and to evaluate their potential as drug targets.
Coordinator
Tamara Maes
C.S.O. Oryzon genomics
Barcelona, Spain
E-mail: tmaes@oryzon.com
EC contribution: € 1 600 000
Starting date: 01/12/2006
Duration: 36 months
Project web-site: http://www.indabip.eu/
Partners:
Participant name |
Country |
ORYZON GENOMICS |
Spain |
Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge |
Spain |
GENFIT SA |
France |
Ludwig-Maximillians-University Munich |
Germany |
University of Kuopio |
Finland |
Université de Lille 2 |
France |
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3)Research on rare neurodegenerative diseases
Rare neurodegenerative diseases are diseases whose prevalence is less than 1 in 2000. They include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other motor neuron diseases, Huntington's disease and other degenerative diseases with chorea (abnormal involuntary movement disorder), ataxias (lack of coordination of muscles movements), prion diseases (for example Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease) , iron and copper disorders and mitochondrial diseases.
EUROSCA
The EUROSCA network aims at developing a treatment for patients suffering from spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA). The project will develop international standards for the clinical evaluation of the disease in the form of a Core Assessment Programme for Interventional Therapies of SCA (CAPIT-SCA). It will also establish the European SCA Registry (EUROSCA-R), the world’s largest collection of information on SCA patients. This it will ensure standardised data acquisition and facilitate continuous enrolment of SCA patients throughout Europe.
Coordinator
Prof. Olaf Riess
Eberhard Karls-Universitaet Tuebingen
Department of Medical Genetics
Tuebingen, Germany
E-mail: olaf.riess@med.uni-tuebingen.de
EC contribution: €9 450 000
Starting date: 01/01/2004
Duration: 60 months
Project web-site: http://www.eurosca.org/
Project video: http://www.youris.com/Health/Genetics/Genes_out_of_Balance.kl
Partners:
Participant name |
Country |
Olaf Riess, UKT Tübingen |
Germany |
Nicholas William Wood, IoN London |
United Kingdom |
Thomas Klockgether, Neurology Bonn |
Germany |
Alexis Brice, INSERM Paris |
France |
Bernard Sablonniere, INSERM Lille |
France |
Stefano DiDonato, INMB Milan |
Italy |
David Rubinsztein, CMRC Cambridge |
United Kingdom |
Massimo Pandolfo, ULB Brussels |
Belgium |
Bart van de Warrenburg, Nijmegen |
The Netherlands |
Jacek Zaremba, DG-IPN Warsaw |
Poland |
Bela Melegh, Uiversity of Pecs |
Hungary |
José Berciano, UHMV Santander |
Spain |
Sandra Szymanski, Neurology Bochum |
Germany |
Georg Auburger, Neurogenetics Frankfurt |
Germany |
Christine Zühlke, Human Genetics Lübeck |
Germany |
Hervé Tricoire, DCF CNRS Paris |
France |
Erich E. Wanker, MDC Berlin |
Germany |
Yvon Trottier IGBMC Illkirch |
France |
Neil Quentin McDonald BC London |
United Kingdom |
Annalisa Pastore NIMR London |
United Kingdom |
Jörg B. Schulz HM Göttingen |
Germany |
Antoni Matilla IGTP Badalona |
Spain |
TAMAHUD
This project aims at identifying novel molecules contributing to the development of Huntington’s disease in order to develop efficient drugs against the disease and novel biomarkers for early diagnosis. Biomarkers are molecules that show the presence of the disease.
Coordinator
Dr Andrea Caricasole
Siena Biotech SpA
Siena, Italy
E-mail: acaricasole@sienabiotech.com
EC contribution: € 3 000 000
Starting date: 01/01/2007
Duration: 42 months
Project web-site: http://www.tamahud.eu/home.jsp
Partners:
Participant name |
Country |
Sienabiotech SpA |
Italy |
University of Cambridge |
United Kingdom |
TCP Innovations |
United Kingdom |
Alma Bioinformatics S.L |
Spain |
EMBL Heidelberg |
Germany |
Total Scientific |
United Kingdom |
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4)Networking activities
The European Community also funds transnational networks to overcome fragmentation of research in a specific area.
NeuroNE
The NeuroNE consortium studies the basic mechanisms of disease in order to develop novel therapeutic approaches to neurodegenerative diseases and spinal cord injury. NeuroNE brings together investigators from different backgrounds (basic scientists, active clinicians and biomedical companies) to work at multiple levels: basic research, preclinical research, and clinical studies. The network mostly focuses on Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Coordinator
Prof. James Fawcett
University of Cambridge
Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair
Cambridge, United Kingdom
E-mail: jf108@cam.ac.uk
EC contribution: €8 300 000
Starting date: 01/01/2005
Duration: 54 months Project web-site: http://neurone.nuxit.net/
Partners:
Participant name |
Country |
Cambridge University |
United Kingdom |
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausann e |
Switzerland |
Universität Heildelberg |
Germany |
Universität Gottingen |
Germany |
Lund University |
Sweden |
Friedrich Miescher Institut |
Switzerland |
Università di Milano |
Italy |
Technion-Israel Institute of Technology |
Israel |
Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique |
France |
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale |
France |
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen |
Germany |
Karolinska Institute |
Sweden |
Université de Genève |
Switzerland |
Max-Planck Institute |
Germany |
Universitätsklinikum Ulm |
Germany |
Kings College London |
United Kingdom |
Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology VZW |
Belgium |
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas |
Spain |
University of Zurich |
Switzerland |
University of Turin |
Italy |
INSERM Transfert |
France |
Trophos |
France |
Xantos GmbH |
Germany |
Genetrix SL |
Spain |
Pharmaxon |
France |
Miltenyi Biotec |
Germany |
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique |
France |
Istituto Veneto di Medicina Molecolare |
Italy |
D-PHARM Ltd |
Israel |
The Babraham Institute |
United Kingdom |
Medical Research Centre |
United Kingdom |
BrainNet Europe II
BrainNet Europe is a "Network of Excellence" that collects human post-mortem brain tissue (i.e brain banking). Collecting such tissue is essential as this tissue can then used by researchers to carry out research on diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Expected results include the development of guidelines describing the best practice for brain banking, providing training in brain banking, and reaching out to neuroscience centres worldwide to promote future expertise in biobanking and central nervous system research.
Coordinator:
Prof. Hans Kretzschmar
Ludwig Maximilians Universitaet Muenchen
Institute of Neuropathology and Prion Research
Munich, Germany
E-mail: Hans-Kretzschmar@med.uni-muenchen.de
EC contribution: €7 740 000
Starting date: 01/07/2004
Duration: 66 months
Project web-site: www.brainnet-europe.org
Partners:
Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED
Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED
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5)Public and private Partnerships
The European Commission also encourages public and private partnerships in research. Launched in 2007, the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is an example of such partnerships: it involves both the European Community and the pharmaceutical industry (EFPIA - European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations)
One of the projects selected within IMI's first call for proposals is PharmaCOG which aims at predicting cognitive properties of new drug candidates for neurodegenerative diseases in early clinical development.
The PharmaCOG project, with a co-founding of € 9M by the European Community and € 13M by the EFPIA partners, is one of the most ambitious projects tackling Alzheimer's disease ever funded at European level.
PharmaCOG offers a complete innovative approach to Alzheimer's treatment drug discovery. Indeed, the major obstacle to new drugs development is the promising pharmaceutical molecules failure rate through the medicines' development process, with regard to criteria such as toxicity and efficiency. PharmaCOG will define more precisely the potential of a drug candidate, reduce its development time and thus accelerate the marketing of promising new drugs in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Through the joint effort of 30 European partners (within 9 European countries) from 12 fundamental and clinical public research institutions, 5 innovative SMEs, 12 Big Pharma companies and 1 patient’s association, PharmaCOG will validate the tools needed to streamline and accelerate the discovery of drugs effective in treating Alzheimer's disease.
Coordinator:
Glaxosmithkline Research and Development Ltd
Managing entity: Université de la Méditerranée – Aix-Marseille II
EC contribution: €9 000 000
EFPIA "in kind" contribution: € 13 000 000
Duration: 60 months
See also IP/09/1171 , MEMO/09/345 and MEMO/09/346