CÚRAM Joins €3 Million Interreg Project for Development of Companion Diagnostics

CÚRAM, The Science Foundation Ireland Centre for Research in Medical Devices based at NUI Galway, is part of a network of nine partners and two sub-partners from seven countries involved in the newly launched ‘Codex4SMEs’ project (Companion Diagnostics expedited for small and medium-sized enterprises) to assist companies with the development of such services, in the field of ‘personalised medicine’.

The aim of this project is to build a transnational network to accelerate the development of companion diagnostics for small and medium-sized businesses. The project is part of the Interreg North-West Europe programme. Interreg forms part of the structural and investment policy of the European Union, supporting cross-border cooperation between regions and cities.

Companion diagnostics are essential to the field of ‘personalised medicine’. They allow tests to determine the molecular causes of a disease before treatment is started. This allows every patient to receive personalised medication at the correct dosage and at the right time. However, to date, the development of companion diagnostics has been time-consuming and costly and used in very few treatment scenarios.

Led by German partner BioRegio STERN Management GmbH, the three-year project has a total budget of over €3 million as part of the Interreg North-West Europe programme. The initial meeting with all of the partners will take place on 29 and 30 January 2018 in Stuttgart.

Project leader, Dr Margot Jehle of BioRegio STERN Management GmbH, said: “The combination of regional economic development organisations and biobanks creates the ideal conditions to provide companies with direct access to specific expertise such as the verification of biomarkers, in other words, parameters of biological processes as indicators of diseases.”

Professor Abhay Pandit, Scientific Director of CÚRAM at NUI Galway, said: “The development of transformative, affordable solutions for patients with chronic illness is a key goal at CÚRAM and we’re delighted to be partnering with such a strong network on this project. We work closely with academics, industry and clinicians and this project will only further enhance our networks across Europe, which are critical for driving medical device research and development.”

CÚRAM, along with WestBIC (EU Business and Innovation Centre for Irelands Border, Midlands and Western Region) are the two Irish partners involved in the project. Other partners include the University of Leicester, with Medilink Midlands as a regional sub-partner from the UK; from France, the Medicen Paris Region cluster; from the Netherlands, BOM Holding BV and the Innovation Quarter; with a regional sub-partner from Luxembourg, the Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg, IBBL; and from Austria, the Biobank Graz at the Medical University of Graz.

CÚRAM, the SFI Centre for Research in Medical Devices is funded by Science Foundation Ireland and industry partners and aims to radically improve the quality of life for patients with chronic illness by developing the next generation of smart, implantable medical devices.