A team of four leading scientists from four European universities has been awarded a prestigious Synergy Grant of approximately €10 million by the European Research Council (ERC) for the project CARAMEL (Covalent Chaotropic Membrane Transport for Biotherapeutic Delivery). The project aims to overcome one of the biggest challenges in medicine: efficiently delivering modern biotherapeutics, such as peptides and proteins, into cells—a key hurdle in developing new treatments for diseases like cancer.
The CARAMEL project team comprises four principal investigators from leading European universities: Dr. Werner Nau (Constructor University, Germany), Dr. Paola Luciani (University of Bern, Switzerland), Dr. Oliver Hantschel (Philipps University of Marburg, Germany), and Dr. Javier Montenegro (Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials - CiQUS, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain), who serves as the corresponding principal investigator.
Many promising therapeutic molecules, such as certain peptides and proteins, cannot reach their targets inside cells because they are unable to cross the protective cell membrane. The CARAMEL project will explore a new, disruptive strategy based on covalent chaotropic membrane transport to ferry these impermeable molecules into cells, abandoning classical design principles for a completely novel approach.
"We are thrilled and honoured to receive this Synergy Grant, which recognizes the innovative potential of our idea and the strength of our collaboration," said Javier Montenegro. "Our goal is to open a new front in drug delivery by investigating a fundamental new mechanism for cellular transport. If successful, CARAMEL could pave the way for a new class of therapies."
The project's approach is considered ground-breaking because it challenges all previous assumptions about what a molecular transporter should look like and how it should function. By unlocking this new delivery pathway, the research has the potential to shake the very foundations of membrane transport research.
"This grant allows us to combine our unique expertise in a highly synergistic way to tackle a problem of immense scientific and medical importance," added Montenegro.
The CARAMEL project will systematically study this new transport phenomenon with the ultimate goal of validating its potential for therapeutic applications, providing a proof-of-principle for future medical developments, including innovative strategies for cancer treatment.
About the ERC Synergy Grants
The European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grants support small groups of two to four principal investigators to jointly address ambitious research problems that could not be tackled by the individual researchers alone. Funding can be up to €10 million for up to 6 years. Synergy Grants are amongst the most competitive and prestigious research grants in Europe, aimed at enabling transformative research through collaboration.