2023-04-18 09:01:07
Normally, drugs are developed for one disease at a time
The SIMPATHIC Consortium led by Radboudumc and Amsterdam UMC has devised a new way to accelerate the use of existing medicines for groups of patients with rare neurological disorders. The researchers are now receiving a grant of 8.8 million euros from the Horizon Europe program for the further development of their new approach.
Normally, drugs are developed for one disease at a time. This approach takes a lot of time and money. It also often takes a long time before patients can use a new medicine. The international SIMPATHIC Consortium with 22 international partners devised a new way of accelerating the use of existing medicines in other disorders, based on screening of tissue from individual patients. They are now receiving a subsidy of 8.8 million euros from the European Commission.
The researchers will use new technology to test the effectiveness of existing medicines in patients with a neurological disorder. For this they only need a tube of blood or a very small piece of skin from the patient. It contains stem cells, which the researchers grow into nerve cells. The researchers then test how the cultured nerve cells respond to all kinds of existing medicines.
If the researchers see a positive effect of a drug on the nerve cells, they immediately set up a scientific study in a group of patients with the same symptoms. These can be people with different ailments. Because existing medicines have already been tested in humans, animal testing is often not necessary. This speeds up the use of medicines in new applications enormously and reduces research costs.
Project leader and bioinformatician Peter-Bram ‘t Hoen of Radboud university medical center explains: ‘The project will significantly improve the efficiency and speed of the discovery, evaluation and approval of new applications for existing medicines.’
Project leader and pediatrician-geneticist Clara van Karnebeek of Amsterdam UMC adds: ‘In addition, it will have a huge impact on the care for patients with rare neurological disorders, for example because medicines will become available more quickly.’
The SIMPATHIC Consortium consists of 22 partners, including research teams from Radboudumc, Amsterdam UMC and other academic centers in Europe and Canada, European patient and training organizations, companies, and a European infrastructure network. They believe their innovative approach will forever change how we think about developing new medicines.
Bron: Radboud UMC
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2023-04-18
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