THE PROJECT

The CosmoPHOS-nano Project focuses on the development of a novel theranostic (diagnostic & therapeutic) nanotechnology-enabled portable combination system for human use, consisting of Nanomedicines and Medical Devices that interact with each other to enable:

  1. Molecular imaging,
  2. Targeted therapy, and
  3. Real-time & follow-up therapy monitoring ...

... of Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) of the heart, which is the leading cause of human death and morbidity in Europe and worldwide.

After systematic administration, the targeted nanomedicines accumulate in coronary atherosclerotic plaques followed by endocoronary photo-activation and detection via novel medical devices, allowing for imaging, targeted therapy and real-time follow-up therapy monitoring of CAD.

This novel project will enable personalised medicine of CAD patients by detecting and treating coronary atherosclerotic plaque pathophysiology and molecular and/or cellular structures associated with coronary plaque vulnerability, such as plaque macrophage / foam cells and neovascular endothelial cells.

The CosmoPHOS-nano Project will be the first R&D project in the history of medicine that will experimentally apply Nanomedicine Technology for patients suffering from Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) of the heart. A First-in-Man Phase-I Clinical Trial in CAD patients is foreseen to be conducted during the final project year to evaluate the safety and feasibility of the CosmoPHOS System for human use.

Additionally, the CosmoPHOS-nano Project is one of the first two Large-Scale R&D Projects co-funded by the EU via the FP7 funding scheme (Framework Programme 7 of Research & Technological Development) within Theme 4 - NMP (Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and New Production Technologies) to experimentally apply nanomedicine for patients and the first one to experimentally apply nanomedicine for cardiac patients.