Kickoff for the EU-Pathfinder Project HEARTCORE at the NMI
It goes without saying that new drug compounds should place as little strain on the heart as possible. But how can potential effects be reliably predicted? Researchers from the NMI, Hannover Medical School (project lead), the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, and industry partners Multi Channel Systems and Foresee Biosystems are tackling this challenge in the new HEARTCORE project.
They use stem cell-derived cardiac organoids and aim to use their research to prevent life-threatening arrhythmias, for example. Ultimately, the goal is to revolutionize safety pharmacology.
As an added benefit, this reduces the reliance on animal testing.
Over the past two days, the project kickoff took place here at the NMI, with about 20 representatives from the participating research institutions and companies coming together to exchange ideas and plan the project. At the NMI, we will contribute our expertise in working with organoids, specifically in the development of suitable microelectrode arrays and in the electrophysiological investigation of the organoids.
HEARTCORE is an EU Pathfinder project and thus a major success for the NMI and all other participants. The project is scheduled to run for four years and is funded by the EU with 3 million euros.
Grant ID: 101257413
