• The partners of the initiative met on the 17th of February for the 5th scientific follow-up meeting of the project and reviewed the latest progress in their respective work packages

• Animal tests will be essential to validate the feasibility of the CARDIOPATCH therapy model for myocardial infarction patients

CARDIOPATCH project, co-financed by the Interreg Sudoe Programme through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), is progressing in the development of an advanced therapeutic patch based on cardiac regenerative medicine and 3D printing for patients who have suffered a myocardial infarction.

The members of the project consortium met virtually on the 17th of February at the 5th scientific meeting to review and discuss the progress made in each work package.

In addition, the meeting served to review the next steps on the road to the successful achievement of the CARDIOPATCH therapy model: a stem cell patch capable of regenerating cardiac tissues damaged by myocardial infarction.

Dr Beatriz Pelacho, scientific coordinator of the initiative, summed up that the first 'in vivo' experiments carried out on rats have been satisfactory and reported that the next objective is to test the patches on pigs in order to analyse their behavior. She also highlighted the proper functioning of the 3D bioreactor designed by Leartiker for the cultivation and transport of the patch. 

After that, Gemma Arderiu from FIRHSCSP and Anne-Catherine Prats from CHUT commented briefly on their progress in the process of increasing the proangiogenic therapeutic potential of stem cells derived from adipose tissue.

On behalf of the partner iBET, the researcher Marta Costa updated their progress in the development of technologies and protocols for the standardised production of different types of therapeutic products adjusted and adapted to cardiac regenerative medicine. And Mariana Almeida, from GENIBET Biopharmaceuticals, presented to the other partners the report generated in the framework of their work on the project to assess, with the protocols developed, the compliance of advanced therapy medicinal products.

In addition, professor Benjamin Nottelet from the partner IBMM gave an update on developments in collagen membrane functionalisation with protein factors involved in cardioprotection and angiogenesis.

This was followed by Dr Beatriz Pelacho, who explained in the name of the partner CIMA the latest advances in determining the therapeutic potential of patches and in the selection of the most suitable patch for preclinical trials.

The meeting concluded with Leartiker experts Mikel Garmendia and Uzuri Urtaza, who discussed the latest advances in the development of a tool for minimally invasive implantation of the patch on the patient. With the aim of validating it, in the coming weeks they will carry out mechanical and chemical tests to analyse the biocompatibility of the materials of which it is composed.

Coordinated by the Clínica Universidad de Navarra (CUN), CARDIOPATCH will bring more than three years of research to an end on April 2023 with the celebration of its final consortium meeting in Pamplona (Navarre).

The initiative includes partners from Spain, France and Portugal: CIMA Universidad de Navarra, through the Foundation for Applied Medical Research, Leartiker Technology Centre la Fundació Institut de Recerca de l’Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, lcommunication agency GUK, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse, the University of Montpellier (UM) - Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), GenIbet Biopharmaceuticals and the Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica.