Pre- and post-marketing data on drug side effects show that neurotoxicity and cardiotoxicity are frequently missed or underestimated during pre-clinical testing. Neuro- and cardiotoxicity caused by pollutants including pesticides and industrial chemicals are equally difficult to assess. This results in suffering of individuals and in a considerable burden to society. One of the main reasons is that currently available testing approaches have several shortcomings, including sensitivity, human-relevance and suitability for non-invasive long-term recording. This project will develop a revolutionary and fully non-invasive technology to record in-vitro electrical signals from human neuronal and cardiac cells. High spatial resolution, combined with parallel recording of electrical signal coordination and propagation among thousands of neurons or cardiomyocytes, will allow the assessment and quantification of subtle disturbances by toxicants from the drug, pesticides and industrial chemicals sectors. The full non-invasiveness will enable, for the first time, the long-term functional in-vitro monitoring of biologically relevant cellular models, paving the way toward the reliable assessment of chronic toxicities. The novel biosensing technique (VICE) will emerge from the efforts of nanotechnology developers in close collaboration with toxicologists and specialists in surface functionalization and electrophysiological data acquisition. With its joint expertise, the consortium will continuously refine the VICE biosensor with innovative functionalities while thoroughly testing it in toxicology and pharmacologicy experiments. This will not only lead to a revolutionary approach to monitor functions of heart and brain cells, but also ensure the direct applicability to relevant questions in safety sciences and pharmacology. Ultimately, the project will elicit the future development of a whole new class of biosensors based on the groundbreaking concept of VICE.

Low back pain (LBP) is a leading cause of disability and morbidity worldwide. It is widely accepted that a major contributor to LBP is intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). IDD account for at least 40% (~280 million) of all LBP cases, leading to an EU-economic burden of ~€240 billion. These patients receive conservative treatment (e.g. pain relief medication and physiotherapy). When the latter is unsatisfactory, the only option left are invasive and costly surgical intervention. To date, no treatments halt or reverse IDD. Despite the profound socioeconomic burden and impact of IDD, decreasing the quality of life of millions of people, a game-changing treatment strategy for IDD-induced LBP is almost non-existent. The iPSpine consortium was formed to initiate a European-led research effort to identify a future advanced therapeutic strategy that results into a radical new treatment of IDD-induced LBP. With their multi-disciplinary expertise in the development of advanced therapies and their translation from bench to bedside, the aim of the iPSpine team is to investigate and develop a new advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) of the future, based on a novel developmental biology-based therapeutic strategy employing pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and smart biomaterials. The iPSpine consortium will develop and demonstrate Proof-of-concept with the aid of novel and extended knowledge, tools and technology platforms. Hereby, iPSpine has the ambition to make a significant contribution by reducing translational bottlenecks through open innovation and take European leadership in the development of ATMPs. The iPSpine impact: iPSpine seeks to offer novel technologies and ATMPs for the advanced therapy research and development community. IDD will be the showcase, offering improved quality of life for millions of patients with IDD-induced LBP, through long-lasting reduction of LBP, reduced LBP-related premature retirement, and improved socio-economic contribution.