The European Union has awarded a grant of 6,8 million Euro to nTRACK collaborative project, which will officially be launched on the 16th of October in Barcelona. The goal of the nTRACK project is to develop a highly sensitive multimodal nano-imaging agent in compliance with current regulatory framework. It will enable non-invasive, quantitative and longitudinal stem cell tracking and whole body bio-distribution. Thereby, it will provide early predictions of cellular therapy treatment outcomes as well as the ability to detect and monitor cell transplants. The nTRACK consortium will utilize stem cells to predict treatment success for muscle regeneration as proof of principle.
nTRACK is a research and innovation project carried out by an international consortium led by LEITAT. The project partners are: Bar Ilan University, Pluristem Therapeutics, University of Mainz, MJR PharmaJet, BET Solutions, National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Vall d’Hebron Research Institute, Vivotecnia Research, RIVM, Asphalion, and Cambridge Nanomaterials Technology.
The main role of Vall d’Hebron Research Institute in the nTRACK collaborative project will be focused on the demonstration of nTRACK technology using a pre-clinical large animal model, a skeletal muscle injury model in sheep, in combination with the clinical imaging equipment routinely used in hospital settings, with the purpose to allow the prompt translation of this innovative technology into the human clinics.
The participation of VHIR in the nTRACK project is focused on medical imaging and pre-clinical animal models through the collaboration between the Medical Molecular Imaging Research Group and the Bioengineering, Cell Therapy and Surgery in Congenital Malformations CIBBIM-Nanomedicine Group.
“nTRACK will end up with fully characterized, (nano)safe and functional nano-based imaging agent. It will be proved in a clinical imaging framework to resemble human complexity plus a data interpretation and modeling software. nTrack project will deliver a new contrast agent ready to be tested in clinics. nTrack aspires to ease the provision of new regenerative therapies to patients”, says Marc Masa, project coordinator of nTRACK, LEITAT.
