Nanofaber srl. becomes first PHOENIX Open Call Recipient
The PHOENIX-OITB consortium is pleased to announce that Nanofaber srl. was chosen as recipient of our first Open Call for funded services in nano-pharmaceutical development.
Application process
The Open Call first round was launched 10 October 2022 as a two-stage application process. The first stage closed 23 February 2023. Applications received were reviewed by an internal Evaluation Committee. Applicants were informed in early March if they passed the first stage; those successful were invited to proceed to the 2nd stage, involving a more detailed application.
Eligible applicants included any legal entity (SMEs, startup or RTO) and research group based in the European Union or associate countries of H2020. The Evaluation Committee assessed the proposals in terms of three main criteria: excellence, implementation and impact.
Selection of Nanofaber
Nanofaber srl. was chosen by the Evaluation Committee as being most successful in both stages. Contract negotiation and exchange of information began immediately, leading to the Open Call Kick-Off Meeting in November 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. Here the identified Service Providers came together with the Nanofaber team to better define and tailor the services offered. The services funded within the Open Call have been developed and implemented under the H2020 project PHOENIX-OITB and will serve to advance Nanofaber’s product towards commercialisation.
Bringing together services offered by the PHOENIX-OITB partners in a “one-stop-shop”, this Open Call project will demonstrate in a relevant industrial environment the Single Entry Point model developed out of the Open Innovation Test Bed (OITB). Services offered cover all the technology transfer aspects from characterization, testing, verification up to scale-up, GMP compliant manufacturing and regulatory guidance in the field of nano-pharmaceutical development.
Nanofaber’s innovative idea
Nanofaber is an innovative Italian SME that has developed the u-Sponge© technology, a breakthrough internationally patented drug delivery platform with applications in many areas of nanomedicine and next-gen personalized medicine. Innovative nanoporous particles are at the core of this technology and enable unprecedented therapeutic and safety performance by means of a controlled delivery of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) at point of care.
The PHOENIX OITB services will help Nanofaber deliver a GMP-compliant product to the MedPharma sector applicable to a variety of different products and treatments, initially focusing on the u-Sponge© treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). The results obtained from this collaboration are expected to pave the way to the application of u-Sponge© in the broader pharmaceutical market, beyond RA and Chronic Rheumatic Diseases, possibly to osteoarthritis, cancer therapy and diabetes.
Support for establishment of the regulatory pathway of u-Sponge© is one of the key services offered by PHOENIX OITB, equally important to technical advances they can offer to craft an effective commercialization strategy and improve the overall readiness level of the Nanofaber technology.
PHOENIX Single Entry Point (SEP) is ready to validate its knowledge and expertise through the established service portfolio during execution of this Open Call. The crucial support of the PHOENIX OITB services to bring the technology platform of Nanofaber towards clinical use will boost the developed business model in a real industrial setting. Besides, the prospective long-term collaboration with the applicant exceeding the Open Call timeframe is very promising for the SEP’s viability and visibility. Transparent and open communication were key components of smooth processing and design of the pro bono services that PHOENIX can offer to the applicant.
Open Call Round 2 has launched!
Find out more about the Open Call and view our second round here: https://www.phoenix-oitb.eu/open-call/
