SACLAY, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EuroNanoMed, a European funding initiative under the ERA-Net scheme of the European Commission aimed at advancing transnational research in Nanomedicine, announced today the projects that will be funded following its 3rd and last joint transnational call for collaborative research projects. Eight projects, involving 40 partners from 11 countries, will be funded with €8 Million provided by EuroNanoMed funding agencies. The research projects were chosen from 41 applications involving 207 applicant groups from 20 EU member and associated states/regions.
The 3rd joint transnational call for proposals was launched by the ERA-Net EuroNanoMed in January 2011 to promote transnational and interdisciplinary research in Nanomedicine. This call is the last one planned in the framework of EuroNanoMed and focuses on the three main subfields of Nanomedicine: diagnostics, targeted delivery systems and regenerative medicine. 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, amyloid diseases, multifactorial psychiatric disease, bone fractures and degenerative skeletal disorders.
Dr. Olaf Rotthaus, Chair of the Network Steering Committee of the ERA-Net EuroNanoMed, pointed out the scientific quality of the projects: "The projects address significant medical needs with a translational approach toward potential clinical or industrial applications.”
Dr. Virginie Sivan, Coordinator and Chair of the Executive Board of ERA-Net EuroNanoMed, said, “The increased number of applications and the high scientific quality of the projects are strong success indicators for EuroNanoMed. EuroNanoMed, through the 3 calls for proposals launched from 2009 to 2011, has become a well identified and recognized funding initiative in the field of Nanomedicine. Since EuroNanoMed ends in December 2011, the EuroNanoMed partners are currently preparing a second ERA-Net. We hope to receive the support and encouragement of the European Commission to continue this important framework in the years to come, in order to be able to contribute and advance European Nanomedicine research for an improved healthcare system.”
About Nanomedicine
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.
About ERA-Net EuroNanoMed
EuroNanoMed aims at leveraging European Nanomedicine through the support of 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, encouraging the participation of small and medium enterprises. The ERA-Net EuroNanoMed initiative comprises 24 partners from 18 European Member- and associated states/regions. Additional information is available at http://www.euronanomed.net.
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