The European Research Council (ERC) Proof of Concept (PoC) Grants provide funding to researchers who have previously received an ERC grant, to explore the commercial and societal potential of their work by turning their frontier research into real-world solutions.
Among the grantees of the latest PoC call is Laura Soucek, an ICREA Research Professor, Director of VHIO’s Experimental Therapeutics Research Program, and Head of our Models of Cancer Therapies Group. A total of €150,000 will support the SONOMYC project aimed at enabling the Omomyc-derived compound, OMO-103, to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) for the treatment of primary and metastatic brain tumors.
Developed in-house by the Peptomyc spin-off from VHIO and ICREA, which was co-founded by Laura in 2014, the Omomyc-derived compound OMO-103 is a mini-protein targeting the MYC oncogene, which is found deregulated in most, if not all tumor types. Being the first direct MYC inhibitor to complete a phase Ia study, OMO-103 is currently being clinically tested in other aggressive tumor types, underscoring its potential versatility across a broad range of solid tumors.
Despite significant advances in research, the prognosis for both primary and secondary brain cancers remains poor. The treatment of brain cancer represents a particular challenge because the brain is protected by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) which acts as a natural filter between the blood and the brain to protect it from harmful substances. However, it poses a significant obstacle for delivering therapeutics to the brain and tumor since it restricts the free passage of molecules larger than 400 daltons.
“We know that dysregulation of the MYC oncogene is a key feature of brain tumors. However, there are no effective and clinically viable MYC inhibitors that can successfully circumvent the blood-brain barrier,” said Laura Soucek.
With this new project, Laura and her team will use SonoCloud® technology, an innovative therapeutic ultrasound-based medical device designed by Carthera® to temporarily increase the permeability of the blood vessels in the brain, thereby enabling OMO-103 to bypass the BBB.
“We seek to optimize the delivery of Omomyc to the brain, expand its therapeutic efficacy for treating intracranial tumors, and demonstrate the commercial viability of developing this strategy as an innovative and disruptive treatment for primary and metastatic brain tumors,” added Soucek.
The synergy between SonoCloud® and Omomyc could potentially generate new intellectual property, facilitate technology transfer, and respond to the growing brain tumor therapeutics market by advancing drug delivery to the brain.
“By overcoming the challenge of the blood-brain barrier and optimizing Omomyc’s distribution within the brain tumor, this approach could significantly improve overall treatment outcomes and generate new commercial opportunities,” she concluded.
150 awarded projects by the ERC
The European Research Council (ERC) has today announced the first group of researchers to be awarded receive ERC Proof of Concept Grants in 2025. In this initial round of the 2025 competition, 150 projects will receive €22.5 million in funding. Each grant is worth €150,000 and is designed to help ERC grantees to bridge the gap between the results of their pioneering research and the early phases of its commercialisation or societal application. The grant scheme is part of Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation programme.
Facts and figures
The new grantees will be based at universities and research centres in 21 EU Member States and associated countries, notably Germany (27 grants), Spain (20 grants), UK (17 grants), France and the Netherlands (both 12 grants). Among the winners are 29 researchers with German nationality, 20 Spanish, 17 Italian, – as well as researchers of 29 other nationalities. This competition attracted 480 proposals, and in this round over 31 percent of proposals were selected for funding.
Next Proof of Concept Grant call
The ERC 2025 work programme includes two calls for proposals for Proof of Concept Grants with a total budget of €45 million. The scheme is open only to researchers who currently hold, or have previously been awarded, ERC frontier research grants. These top-up grants help to explore the commercial or societal potential of the findings researchers made through their ERC projects. The objective is to enable ERC-funded ideas to progress on the path from ground-breaking research towards innovation.
