IMPRiND

Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases are age-related neuro- degenerative disorders without cure. They are characterised by the progressive loss of brain cells often along interconnected networks. Recent evidence suggests that this progressive march of pathological lesions may be due to the release and uptake of specific aggregated proteins which act as templates for further aggregation once inside cells. However, a complete understanding of such events and the underpinning cellular mechanisms is still lacking. IMPRiND aims to ll this knowledge gap and develop tools and assays for targeting these pathways to pave the way for novel therapeutics that could delay the progression of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

The project has a total budget of 11.4 million Euros. It is supported by the IMI with 4.7 million Euros, by industrial partners with 6.4 million Euros and 0.3 million Euros from the Swiss Federation. The project started on 1 March 2017 and is expected to run for 48 months, with a possible prolongation of 3 years depending on progress.

Rhapsody

The stated goal of Rhapsody is to define a molecular taxonomy of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) that will support patient segmentation, inform clinical trial design, and the establishment of regulatory paths for the adoption of novel strategies for diabetes prevention and treatment.

Rhapsody's plans are built upon:

• access to large European cohorts with comprehensive genetic analyses and rich longitudinal clinical and biochemical data and samples
• detailed multi-omic maps of key T2D-relevant tissues and organs
• large expertise in the development and use of novel genetic, epigenetic, biochemical and physiological experimental approaches
• the ability to combine existing and novel data sets through effective data federation and use of these datasets in systems biology approaches towards precision medicine; and expertise in regulatory approval, health economics and patient engagement.

These activities will lead to the discovery of novel biomarkers for improved T2D taxonomy, to support development of pharmaceutical activities, and for use in precision medicine to improve health in Europe and worldwide.

RHAPSODY started on 1 April 2016 and is expected to run for 60 months, with a possible prolongation of three more years depending on progress. The project has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 115881. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA.

OTOSTEM

Hearing impairment is the most frequent human sensory deficit and is mainly caused by the irreversible loss of neurosensory cells in the cochlea. OTOSTEM addressed this urgent and unmet medical need for causal hearing loss therapies by focusing on human stem cell technology.

OTOSTEM was a Collaborative Project funded under the Theme HEALTH of the FP7 programme of the European Commission. It started in November 2013 and finished in October 2017.

E2SWITCH

E²SWITCH focused on Tunnel FET (TFETs) as most promising energy efficient device candidates able to reduce the voltage supply of integrated circuits (ICs) below 0.25V and make them significantly more energy efficient by exploiting strained SiGe/Ge and III-V platforms, with CMOS technological compatibility. E²SWITCH was funded under the FP7 ICT theme and coordinated by EPFL in Switzerland.

CassaMobile

Advanced production equipment and innovative systems are needed to enable fast and cost-effective manufacturing of customised products at the location of need, at the required time. Within CassaMobile a mobile, flexible, modular, small-footprint manufacturing system in a 20' ISO-container that can be easily configured for different products and process is developed. The container format allows transport to provide on-site manufacturing anywhere, enabling the benefits of localised service delivery without duplication of equipment at multiple locations.

CassaMobile is funded under the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union. It is coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation in Stuttgart, Germany.

NANOCI

Over 60 million of citizens in the EU suffer from hearing loss with its associated restrictions. In severe cases, hearing can only be restored by surgically implanting a neuroprosthesis called cochlear implant, which directly stimulates the auditory nerve.
NANOCI worked on the development of a neuroprosthesis with a gapless interface to auditory nerve fibres. An innovative, nanomatrix containing diffusible and surface-bound neurotrophic compounds was used with the idea to attract and guide the neurites towards the functionalized, neurotrophic electrode array surface. To achieve a long-lasting operation without interface degradation, reduced biofouling and improved conductivity, several approaches for nanostructuring of the array surface were devised. Various functional nanomaterials, including carbon nanotubes, were used in concert with structuring methods such as ion implantation and sacrificial nanoparticle embedding in parylene, SOLID (solid on liquid deposition) encapsulation, and sonochemistry. Components were validated using appropriate bioassays including human auditory neurons in vitro. In parallel, software models were developed to exploit the enhanced effectiveness of the bidirectional, gapless interface. By combining all these developments, an animal-grade, pilot nanoCI-device has been manufactured and tested in vivo. This allowed to assess the feasibility of a future, cost-efficient, and fully implantable neuroprosthesis with substantially increased sound quality.

NANOCI was a Collaborative Project funded under the Theme NMP of the FP7 programme of the European Commission. NANOCI started in September 2012 and finished in Auguste 2015.

MIME

MIME has identified, assessed and recommended measures for the management of trade-offs between the potentially conflicting goals of mobility and inclusion in a multilingual Europe. 

Rather than taking existing trade-offs as a given, we think that they can be modified, both in symbolic and in material/financial terms, and we argue that this objective can best be achieved through carefully designed public policies and the intelligent use of dynamics in civil society.

MIME was a large Collaborative Project funded under the Theme SSH of the FP7 programme of the European Commission. It started in March 2014 and has for 54 months.

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement No. 613344 (MIME Project).

Bonseyes

Bonseyes is an open and expandable Artificial Intelligence platform. It supports scenarios where data must remain in the data provider’s premises and online learning with distributed CPSs (cyber-physical systems). In contrast to existing solutions, it keeps human actors in the loop by allowing for continuous feedback for evaluating the performance of the models and obtaining metadata about context and the users’ perspectives.

The project aims to solve two key challenges: the strong industrial need to address data network effects and data wall problems of building systems of artificial intelligence at the European level. Opposed to monolithic system design currently used in closed end-to-end solutions, Bonseyes will focus on an open architecture to enable an eco-system of companies to collaborate in building complex distributed 'intelligent' systems.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 732204 (Bonseyes) and has been supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education‚ Research and Innovation (SERI) under contract number 16.0159. The total budget is 8.5 M€.

Bonseyes ran from 1 Dec 2016 until 31 January 2020.

DYLAN

The DYLAN project has been seeking the conditions under which Europe's linguistic diversity can be an asset for the development of knowledge and the economy. 

DYLAN was in an Integrated Project (Contract N° 028702) funded under Framework Programme 6 (FP6) of the European Union. The project embraces 20 research institutions in 12 European Countries and ran for five years.

FLAVIOLA

The FLAVIOLA research project was about the positive impact of flavanols found e.g. in chococolate and red wine on cardiovascular health. FLAVIOLA delivered biological evidence to better understand flavanol uptake and its influencing factors, flavanol metabolism and cellular effects, as well as formulating recommendations on food and diet design to both the food industry and the European health organisations and governments.

ULTRAsponder

ULTRAsponder stands for In Vivo Ultrasonic Transponder System for Biomedical Applications and was a Collaborative Project funded under the ICT priority of the 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission. The ULTRAsponder project aimed at improving the monitoring of parameters and the patients’ life quality using ultrasound waves in an innovative way for communication between an implanted transponder sensor and an external control unit. A prototype was conceived for the monitoring of congestive heart failure.

BRAAVOO

BRAAVOO developed innovative solutions for real-time in-situ measurement of high impact and difficult to measure marine pollutants. 

The concept of BRAAVOO was based on a unique combination of three types of biosensors, which enabled both the detection of a number of specific marine priority pollutants as well as of general biological effects that can be used for early warning.

BRAAVOO was a Collaborative Project funded under the Theme KBBE-OCEAN_of_TOMORROW of the FP7 programme of the European Commission. It started in December 2013 and ran for three years.

3D-DEMO

3D-DEMO was an international research project funded by the European Commission (FP6). It proposed a new capability in thin film deposition, effectively associating cost optimisation, flexibility and sustainability based on the Laser-Assisted Chemical Beam Epitaxy (LACBE) process. The proposed method will allow the growth of oxides with 3D patterning of properties during the growth in only one step (3D selective and graded properties at the micrometer and nanometre scale).

SCIPROM was the managing partner of the consortium. 3D-DEMO ran for three and a half years, from November 2006 to April 2010.

METFIZZ

METFIZZ is a clinical development project for an effervescent metformin soluble to treat PCOS in adolescent girls. METFIZZ receives funding from the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union. The project is expected to run for 42 months. EffRx Pharmaceuticals SA, the Swiss specialty pharmaceutical company, will co-ordinate the high-quality, pan-European consortium consisting of Klifo (DK), Sciprom (CH), Charles Campbell Associates (2000) Ltd. (UK), Sermes (ES), Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs) (FR), and the University of Liverpool (UK).

Veg-i-Trade

Veg-i-Trade was funded by the seventh Framework programme for research of the European Commission. The project assessed the impact of anticipated climate change and globalisation on the safety issues concerning fresh produce and derived food products. Research was performed concerning the economic structure of the fresh produce chain, and control measures to minimise microbiological and chemical risks were developed.

Veg-i-Trade unified 23 international partners from universities, research institutes, SMEs and large industrial partners. Recommendations concerning good practices and quality assurance in the fresh produce supply chain were developed and exchanged via international collaborations and capacity building.

Veg-i-Trade runs from May 2010 to April 2014.

STEEPER

STEEPER was a major European research initiative, with several leading academic and corporate research organizations across Europe, to address the alarming growth of energy consumption by electronic devices, ranging from mobile phones to laptops to televisions to supercomputers. STEEPER aims to increase the energy efficiency of these devices, when active, by 10 times and virtually eliminate power consumption when they are in passive or standby mode.

Coordinated by Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), STEEPER included leading corporate research organizations IBM Research - Zurich, Infineon and GLOBALFOUNDRIES, large research institutes CEA-LETI and Forschungszentrum Julich, academic partners, University of Bologna, University of Dortmund, University of Udine and the University of Pisa and the managerial support of SCIPROM.

PARYLENS

The main goal of the PARYLENS project was to develop novel optical devices (tuneable lenses, truly accommodative intraocular lenses, bistable flexible displays) based on an innovative and reliable concept inspired by natural optical systems such as the human and the fly eyes.

The development of these devices relies on recent advances in nanotechnology combined with the patented SOLID (Solid On Liquid deposition) process, which offers the possibility to grow a stable solid layer directly onto a liquid, such that the solid uniformly replicates and encapsulates the liquid template.

PARYLENS was a Collaborative Project funded under the Theme NMP of the FP7 programme of the European Commission. PARYLENS started in October 2010 and ran for three years.

MemStick

MemStick or "Synaptic mechanisms of memory loss: Novel cell adhesion molecules as therapeutic targets" was a Collaborative Project financed by the 7th Framework Program of the European Union in the HEALTH priority.

Memory loss is a central symptom in different diseases, and represents a significant social and economic burden for a large percentage of European citizens. The molecular and neurobiological bases of memory deficits are largely unknown and there are currently no drugs available that can markedly decelerate or prevent memory decline. To address this major problem, the MemStick project investigated the role of novel synaptic cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) in memory loss, and the therapeutic value of targeting these CAMs to restore memory function and associated neurobiological mechanisms at the synaptic level.

IBDase

IBDase addressed the etiology and pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), a multifactorial disease influenced by environmental factors in a background of complex genetic susceptibility. The project employed a multidisciplinary approach for innovative diagnosis and therapy focused on mucosal proteases and their inhibitors (P/PIs).

IBDase is a Collaborative Project financed by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union in the HEALTH priority.

SINPHONIA

SINPHONIA was an international research project funded by the European Commission (FP6). It targeted the development of near-infrared single-photon optical detectors based on nanostructured superconductors.

SCIPROM was the managing partner of the consortium. The project ran from January 2006 to March 2009.

SINPHONIA has led to many publications in high-ranked journals. As an entry point to the subject we recommend a joint publication by several SINPHONIA partners in Nature Photonics:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2008.51

ESSE

For a European Research Space in Social Sciences

The ESSE network aimed at analysing the conditions of the possibility and the realisation of an European space of research in the social sciences. The first objective was to describe the barriers which impede the emergence of such a transnational, multidisciplinary area.The team achieved the task by a systematically comparative approach of the history of the social sciences within each of the represented national contexts. Intercultural divergences and convergences prevailing within the European area where identified; obstacles and filters slowing down if not blocking the free circulation of ideas where delineated.

SCIPROM joined ESSE in June 2006 to take over management tasks. ESSE ran from August 2004 to July 2008.

ESPHI

Real hydraulic flows in the turbine industry, environmental and coastal engineering have crucial impacts on economy and society. Current computational fluid dynamics tools, have limited capabilities when simulating the complicated phenomena involved in flows. The meshless Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method is a new technology that represents an ideal tool to address these problems in a unified manner.

The Marie Curie FP6 ToK-IAP initiative ESPHI reinforced the collaboration between key SPH developers, researchers and users in UK, France and Switzerland, thus inducing a strong impulse in the EU through industrial added value applications, and facilitating access to this technology for both academia and industry.

ESPHI ran from October 2006 to September 2009.

SCIPROM accompanied the project as an external consultant.

NEMSIC

The objective of NEMSIC developed a new generation of smart sensors and actuators for gases and biological substances particularly suited for monitoring of critical environment and for genetics, pharmacology and drug discovery. Solid-state semiconductor micro/nano devices and micro/nano mechanical devices were integrated in a single chip for new functionalities and increased performances.

NEMSIC was a Collaborative Project funded under the ICT priority of the FP7 programme of the European Commission.

BIOSAFETY-EUROPE

BIOSAFETY-EUROPE was a Coordination Action funded through the European Commission’s Sixth Framework Programme which started April 1st 2006. The project federated 19 partners from 10 European countries with the overall aim of promoting European harmonisation and the exchange of practices relating to biosafety and biosecurity management of biological containment facilities.

BIOSAFETY-EUROPE ran from April 2006 to November 2008.

PERPLEXUS

PERPLEXUS has come into existence thanks to a grant from the European Commission 6th framework programme and regroups eight research institutions, from four different countries, including an industrial partner. PERPLEXUS ran for three and a half years, starting from September 2006 to February 2010.

SCIPROM was the managing partner of the consortium.

MagRSA

The MagRSA project made major progress towards a new diagnostics platform that will provide a fast, simple and accurate identification of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from clinical sample. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is responsible for most nocosomial and community-acquired infections and has been spreading in Europe in the past ten years.

This project gathered six European entities from Switzerland, Germany, France and Sweden, amongst whom three leading academic institutions and two high-tech SMEs. MagRSA was funded by a grant from the European Commission 6th framework programme. The project ran for three years, from October 2006 to March 2010.

NM4TB

New Medicines For Tuberculosis (NM4TB)

New Medicines for Tuberculosis (NM4TB) has aimed to successfully develop new drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) through an integrated approach implemented by a team that combined some of Europe's leading academic TB researchers with a major pharmaceutical company and three SMEs, all with a strong commitment to discovering new anti-infective agents.

SCIPROM entered NM4TB during the last project year and was in charge of the project management.

NM4TB ran from January 2006 until December 2012.

PanFluVac

PanFluVac or "Efficacious vaccine formulation system for prophylactic control of influenza pandemics" was a Specific Targeted Research and Innovation Project financed by the Sixth Framework Program of the European Union.

Influenza epidemics remain a burden to both human heath and national economies, as witnessed by the recent advance of pathogenic avian H5N1 influenza virus. Now that H5N1 virus has been detected in wild birds in Europe, the PANFLUVAC consortium is committed to creating an efficacious vaccine against this virus, to provide strong protection in a pandemic situation.