(November 11, 2010 – BUSINESS WIRE) — EuroNanoMed, a European funding initiative under the ERA-Net scheme of the European Commission aimed at advancing transnational research in nanotechnology for medicine, announced the projects that will be funded following its 2nd joint transnational call for collaborative research projects.
The transnational call for proposals was launched by ERA-Net EuroNanoMed to promote collaborative and interdisciplinary research in nanomedicine. The call focused on the three main subfields of nanotech in medicine: diagnostics, targeted delivery systems and regenerative medicine.
Eight projects, involving 46 partners from 10 countries, will be funded with €8 million provided by EuroNanoMed partners. The research projects were chosen from 33 applications involving 178 applicant groups from 19 EU members and associated states/regions. The applications were reviewed by external referees, taking into account the scientific, technical, clinical and commercial merit of the projects, followed by evaluation of an international peer review panel. The 8 funded projects encompass all three subfields of Nanomedicine covering diverse medical issues such as cancer, inflammatory diseases, bone regeneration, muscular dystrophy, immunology and vaccines.
Nanomedicine is the application of nanotechnology to medicine and healthcare. The field takes advantage of the physical, chemical and biological properties of materials at the nanometer scale to be used for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of diseases. Given the immense potential impact of Nanomedicine on public wellbeing and on economic growth, the field is of considerable strategic importance for Europe. Dr. Virginie Sivan, coordinator and chair of the Executive Board of ERA-Net EuroNanoMed said, "Nanomedicine is the medicine of the future. It has the potential of revolutionizing every aspect of health care, including diagnostics, imaging, drug delivery and sophisticated therapies. As evident by the excellent projects selected by ERA-Net EuroNanoMed, Europe is a central player in biological nano-research. I am convinced that the quality and diversity of the selected projects will help advance Nanomedicine research. The EuroNanoMed partners hope to get the support of the European Commission to be able to continue the successful work in the next years."
EuroNanoMed will launch a 3rd joint transnational call for innovative research projects in Nanomedicine in January 2011.
EuroNanoMed supports European nanomedicine through transnational collaborative and multidisciplinary research and technology development projects with participants from academia, clinical/public health communities, and industry. The ERA-Net EuroNanoMed was created to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial and clinical applications. Additional information is available at http://www.euronanomed.net
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