Start
januari 2018

TAXINOMISIS: personalised medicine and biomodelling, a multidisciplinary approach for the stratification of patients with carotid artery disease

Duration: Jan 2018 - Dec 2023

Background

Carotid Artery Disease (CAD), the primary trigger of ischaemic cerebrovascular events including stroke, causes major morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs worldwide. Still, treatment is based on criteria established in the 90s that do not take into account the molecular evolution we have witnessed since nor the introduction of new medication, leading to remarkably high unnecessary surgical treatment while missing most patients at risk.

Aim

TAXINOMISIS aims to develop a new concept for the carotid artery disease stratification. The project will provide novel disease mechanism-based stratification for CAD patients to address the needs for stratified and personalised therapeutic interventions in the current era.

Approach

The approach will be the first of its kind in cardiovascular and other chronic diseases in general. It will have a strong ‘personalized’ element, exploring the biology of atherosclerotic plaques and circulating biomarkers in the same patient, combined with heterogeneous individual/patient-specific clinical, imaging and demographic information.

Methods

The following methods will be used:
1. the dissection of mechanisms mediating carotid artery disease, and identification of susceptibility and protection factors of plaque erosion and/or rupture using longitudinal cohorts and multi-omics
2. the definition of distinct disease phenotypes and endotypes, and generation of molecular fingerprints of high versus low-risk states through systems medicine
3. the development of a multilevel risk prediction model of the symptomatic plaque incorporating new biomarkers and advanced imaging, implemented in a software, to assist patient stratification and clinical decision making
4. the development of novel pharmacogenomics solutions based on lab-on-a-chip technology to support personalized treatment
5. the evaluation of the new risk prediction model and lab-on-a-chip device in a prospective observational clinical study
6. the assessment of regulatory, cost-effectiveness and ethical issues towards the implementation and commercialization of the programme’s outcomes.

Project partners

University of Ionannina, Greece; Universitair Medisch Centrum Utrecht, The Netherlands; Klinikum rechts der Isar der Technischen Universität München, Germany; Interuniversitair micro-electronicacentrum IMEC VZW, Belgium; Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Greece; The chancellor, masters and scholars of the University of Oxford, United Kingdom; Faculty of medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia; Zora Biosciences Oy, Finland; Tampere University Hospital, Finland; University of Athens, Greece; Fundacio Privada Clinic per a la Recerca Biomedica, Spain; European Society for CardioVascular Surgery, Germany; BIOIRC D.O.O. Kragujevac, Serbia, Engineering Ingegneria Informatica S.p.A., Italy; IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino IST Istitutio Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Italy.

Results

A new strategy to adress the carotid artery disease stratification, with a strong ‘personalized’ element.
Taxinomisis has the potential to rationally change the current state-of-the-art in the stratification of patients with CAD, reducing unnecessary operations, refining medical treatment and opening up new avenues for therapeutic intervention, while strengthening the European biotechnology sector.

International project website: www.taxinomisis-project.eu

Dit project wordt gesubsidieerd door
European Commission - Research & Innovation
Projectpartners
The TAXINOMISIS Consortium consists of several partners of European countries: Germany, Belgium, Greece, United Kingdom, Servia, Spain, Italy, Netherlands. Leading partner is: the University of Ioannina, Greece (see more at www.taxinomisis-project.eu).