Recipient: Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
Funding: Go-Bio initial (01/10/2022 to 30/09/2023, EUR 120,000)

Project description:

The "GO-Bio initial" funding initiative is intended to promote life science research approaches with recognisable innovation potential at an early stage of development and to improve their transfer into economic exploitation thereof.

Neurodegenerative diseases (ND) are characterised by a heterogeneous and progressive loss of nerve cells, for which there are currently neither prevention nor cure. Symptoms are becoming more frequent, and almost exclusively in the elderly, at a time when preventive or therapeutic measures are already too late. The disease is often accompanied by social problems.

New drugs are currently being developed based on animal models, as there are no representative models for ND in humans. This leads to the failure of therapeutic approaches in clinical validation. A paradigm shift would be the establishment of an in vitro test system relevant to the human brain that recapitulates neurodegenerative effects and, at the same time, identifies key symptoms at an early stage. This is where the "GO-Bio initial" project NeuroNoid comes in. The aim is to establish a 3D test platform that can be used to detect ND diseases individually, reliably and at an early stage, ideally with the introduction of vessels that imitate the blood-brain barrier. It is based on specially developed methods for the production of brain organoids from iPSCs as well as experience in disease modelling of the human brain.

In the exploratory phase, needs and suitable markets are evaluated and possible product concepts are developed and prioritised in order to further develop the most promising field of application scientifically and entrepreneurially as a business idea.