Professor Pasi Tavi at the University of Eastern Finland has secured funding from Business Finland’s New Business from Research Ideas (TUTLI) programme for a project that seeks to develop an effective drug for the prevention and treatment of heart failure. The project is based on molecules developed by researchers, which make it possible to influence the cellular mechanisms leading to heart failure.
“The compounds we have developed reprogram the expression of genes in cells. They induce positive effects similar to physical exercise, thus preventing the progression of heart failure. They can also be used to alleviate the symptoms of an already existing disease,” Tavi notes.
Funded by Business Finland, the Exercise Mimetic Drug Molecules project seeks to establish both technological and commercial foundations for the commercialisation of these novel drug molecules. The objective is to change the course of how heart failure progresses and to found a company that is geared towards the global market. At the same time, the goal is to strengthen the regional and national innovation ecosystems in the field of health and welfare. The project will run for two years and its total funding amounts to 534 377 euros.
No efficient treatment for heart failure currently exists, and there is a great need for an effective drug. In ageing populations, heart failure is one of the leading causes of illness, morbidity and mortality. Heart failure treatment is responsible for two per cent of all health care costs in Europe, and the annual market of drugs seeking to alleviate heart failure symptoms amounts to some 6 billion dollars, growing by more than 15 per cent every year.
The University of Eastern Finland succeeded well in the New Business from Research Ideas (TUTLI) call, as Business Finland granted a total of 1.15 million euros of funding to three projects at UEF.
For further information, please contact:
Professor Pasi Tavi, A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, tel. +358 40 3553272, pasi.tavi (a) uef.fi