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H2020Doctoral network2019–2022

STACCATO · European Industrial Doctorate for enhancing upstream biopharmaceutical manufacturing process development through single cell analysis

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2019-01-01 → 2022-12-31
EU contribution
€2,924,526
Participants
16
Scheme
MSCA-ITN

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

European Industrial Doctorate for enhancing upstream biopharmaceutical manufacturing process development through single cell analysis

Biopharmaceuticals have revolutionised the treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer and inflammatory disorders, with 350 million patients benefiting from biological medicines worldwide. The discovery of biopharmaceutical candidates continues at a staggering pace encompassing >50% of all new medicines in drug discovery pipelines. There are tremendous opportunities to improve human health and contribute to economic growth and sustainability in the years to come. Of the more than 6,300 biopharmaceuticals in development, ~70% have the potential to be designated “first-in-class medicines”. The sheer number, diversity and increasing sophistication of emerging biopharmaceuticals (e.g. designer proteins as well as gene and whole cell therapies) in drug discovery pipelines is putting the industry under considerable pressure to produce these medicines in a cost-effective and safe manner. If Europe’s biopharmaceutical sector is to grow, the industry urgently requires not only new analytical approaches that enable rapid design of efficient bioprocesses to produce new biological medicines but also excellent scientists to pioneer the development of innovative solutions as new challenges emerge. The consortium of the European Industrial Doctorate STACCATO was united by a shared vision - to contribute to delivering life-changing medicines to as many people as possible in the years to come. The STACCATO consortium has achieved its overall goal and has delivered on the research and training objectives proposed at the beginning of the project. Through the immersion of the STACCATO ESRs in an extensive industry-focussed training programme (9 of the 11 ESRs were employed at non-academic partners), we have equipped the students with the scientific, business and entrepreneurial skills required to become the next generation of leaders in the sector. The consortium has also developed ground-breaking approaches for understanding biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes and demonstrated that single cell analysis is a powerful approach for characterising the cell populations used for biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Our ability to utilise biological systems to produce medicines has improved the quality of life for millions of EU citizens. In recent years a new wave of exciting biopharmaceuticals have been discovered with the potential to advance current treatments for a variety of disorders. These new medicines, however, are becoming increasingly complex and difficult to manufacture. Overcoming the inherent heterogeneity of cells grown in vitro to produce effective, uniform and safe biopharmaceuticals is one of the most significant challenges faced by industry today.The STACCATO European Industrial Doctorate has been specifically designed to strengthen Europe’s innovation capacity and leadership in the BioPharma sector. The consortium will provide exceptional intersectoral training to 11 ESRs through pioneering research focused on harnessing recent advances in single cell analysis to generate and apply a new suite of tools for cell culture process development. ESRs will participate in a specialised training programme to build their proficiency in essential research and industry disciplines. Additional training in professional skills and entrepreneurship will enable ESRs to become future leaders in biopharmaceutical manufacturing science.STACCATO is composed of an industry leader in instrumentation for cellular analysis, 3 innovative biotechnology SMEs, a leading academic institution and a research conducting biological medicines regulatory agency. The STACCATO EID will immerse all ESRs in highly dynamic industrial environments while receiving supervision from leading academics. A feature of STACCATO is collaboration amongst experts in the production of different biopharmaceuticals such as therapeutic proteins and CAR T cell therapy. All ESRs will receive unparalleled exposure to pan-biopharmaceutical manufacturing challenges to foster collaboration, catalyse synergies across the network and ultimately create a truly unique training experience.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR BIOPROCESSING RESEARCH AND TRAINING LIMITED · BLACKROCK DUBLINCoordinatorIreland
  • ACCELOPMENT SCHWEIZ AG · ZurichSwitzerland
  • AVECTAS LIMITED · KildareIreland
  • BECTON DICKINSON RESEARCH CENTRE IRELAND LIMITED · DublinIreland
  • BUNDESINSTITUT FUR IMPFSTOFFE UND BIOMEDIZINISCHE ARZNEIMITTEL · LangenGermany
  • HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO · HelsinkiFinland
  • Horizon Discovery Limited · CambridgeUnited Kingdom
  • INSTITUTO DE BIOLOGIA EXPERIMENTAL E TECNOLOGICA · OeirasPortugal
  • KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLAN · StockholmSweden
  • MEIRAGTX UK II LTD · LondonUnited Kingdom
  • NORTHX BIOLOGICS MATFORS AB · MatforsSweden
  • SPIBER TECHNOLOGIES AB · StockolmSweden
  • TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAT DARMSTADT · DarmstadtGermany
  • TILT BIOTHERAPEUTICS OY · HelsinkiFinland
  • UNIVERSIDADE NOVA DE LISBOA · LisboaPortugal
  • UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, DUBLIN · DublinIreland

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union