The project will receive funding of 45,000 € for the coming two years (2020-2022). The consortium is completed by another CIBER-BBN group led by Miriam Royo (IQAC-CSIC), and two external partners, led by Miguel F. Segura (Vall d'Hebron Research Institute, VHIR) and Santiago Sala (Nanomol Technologies S.L.), will contribute to the project.

TAG-SMARTLY builds on a patented laboratory-scale proof of concept of a nanomedicine, which is based on Quatsome (QS) nanovesicles that deliver RNA molecules, such as microRNAs or siRNAs, to cancerous cells.

The objective of the TAG-SMARTLY project is to advance in the pharmaceutical development of the nanomedicine platform, to complete the non-regulatory preclinical testing for the treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma, a highly aggressive pediatric tumor with scant therapeutic options.

Another project from the Nanomol Group was also selected in this CIBER-BBN valorization program. Judith Guasch, Nanomol Group ICMAB, and Elisabeth Engel (UPC, IBEC) will work on a project to print large 3D hydrogels in order to expand T-cells in a more efficient way. This project also counts with the collaboration of Joaquín Arribas, from the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), and Miguel A. Mateos, from the International University of Catalonia (UIC).

In total, two of the four projects selected in the CIBER-BBN Valorization Program to be transferred to the industry are from CIBER-BBN groups of the ICMAB-CSIC. This is the third edition of this call that, since its first call, has already funded ten projects.

More information:

• El Programa de Valorización del CIBER-BBN selecciona cuatro proyectos para su transferencia a la industria
• Convocatoria de Proyectos de Transferencia y Valorización del CIBER-BBN 2020
• Patent in which the TAG-SMARTLY project is based: Priority European patent application PCT/EP2020/063195