3D NEONET is a consortium that brings together a unique group of microbiologists, cancer biologists, chemists, material scientists, mechanical engineers, ocular pharmacologists, geneticists and toxicologists from 9 academic and 9 non-academic partner organizations in 7 countries.
Our objective is to share knowledge and have the opportunity to work on joint research and innovation projects in oncology and ophthalmology in academic and commercial institutions across Europe. The aim is to accelerate the development of therapeutic interventions for oncology and ophthalmology.
Through 3D-NEONET, we will address key challenges facing research and innovation in Europe today.
This programme is a fantastic opportunity for university graduates to enhance career development, facilitate knowledge sharing and enable new skills acquisition. Ultimately, this will form a sustainable network of academics and SMEs who can collectively overcome obstacles in the development of therapeutics for oncology and ophthalmology.
Relevance of Vision Loss. ~314 million people worldwide suffer from vision impairments. The European Forum Against Blindness (EFAB) reported that eye disease significantly reduces a person’s quality of life and creates a multi-billion-euro burden on European economies. In the seven European countries studied (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Great Britain) the economic burden of blindness amounted to ~€7,000,000,000. In these countries, ~3.8 million Europeans suffer from glaucoma, ~2.8 million from wet age-related macular degeneration and ~1.8 million from diabetic retinopathy. Therefore, cost-effective interventions (e.g. screening and treatments) to overcome the individual and societal impact of vision loss are needed.
Relevance of Cancer. GLOBOCAN report 18 million new cancer cases and 9.5 million deaths were recorded worldwide in 2018. Lung cancer is the principal cause of cancer death among males and has exceeded breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death among females; breast cancer remains the main cause of cancer death among females. Other prominent causes of cancer death include colorectal and prostate cancer among males. Annual costs of cancer treatment and care estimated to escalate from $104,000,000 in 2006 to over $173,000,000 in 2020. The surge in cost is due to the increase in both the cost of treatment and the magnitude of care (Yabroff et al, 2008). The majority of new therapies cost ~$5,000 per month, and usually the cost-effectiveness ratios surpass commonly recognized thresholds – an unjustifiable trend.
The 3D-NEONET consortium tackles these challenges by promoting cross-sector, inter-European and international R&I staff exchanges. The transfer of knowledge between domain experts in the consortium enhances the discovery & development of new therapeutics at all steps on the journey to clinical trial and regulatory approval.
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3D NEONET Consortium in a nutshell
Introducing the Ocular Pharmacology and Genetics Group in University College Dublin, which coordinates 3D-NEONET project
Innovation, Therapeutics and Pharmaceutical Development in Ophthalmology Lab in Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Cancer research collaboration between Spanish-SME (Xenopat) and Swedish University (LiU)
The CEO of Ocupharm explains the role of this company specialised in «outsourced» pharmaceutical research in 3D-NEONET
Blafar, the Bio-polymer designers on 3D-NEONET explain their role in the consortium
The Director and the Head of the Screening Center at EZRC (European Zebrafish Resource Center) in Karlsruhe talk about their participation in 3D-NEONET
CRISPR Cas9 gene editing system works like a pair of molecular scissors to snip out unwanted parts of DNA
Diabetes Overview from Sean Kirwan on Vimeo. Most of type 1 and 2 diabetic patients develop DR (Diabetic Retinopathy)
Diabetic Retinopathy (International) from Sean Kirwan on Vimeo. DR is the most common cause of blindness in people of working age in Western society.
AMD affects the eye and causes gradual loss of central vision. (Developed by Sean Kirwan, UCD and ICON Firecrest)
HD-OCT angiography prototype to detect AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration) before vision loss. (Sean Kirwan, ARVO 2016)
HD-OCT angiography prototype to detect early DR (Diabetic Retinopathy). (Sean Kirwan, ARVO 2016)
