The funding is a prelude to the €2.2 billion earmarked for “genomics research for human health” in the next Community research program to be launched later this year.

The projects on the genetics of twins, mouse genomics and structural proteomics are demonstrating the new way in which the Commission will fund research in the future: asking scientists from industry and academia to compose top teams from across Europe to conduct research at the cutting edge of science in a selected number of fields and giving them sufficient means to achieve critical mass and world-class excellence.

This effort is part of the European Commission’s commitment to invest more and better in the creation of knowledge and to build a coherent European Area for Research and Innovation, as called for by Heads of State and Government at their Barcelona summit two days ago.

For Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin, “The decoding of the human genome opens new opportunities for researchers to understand the genetic origins of diseases and to develop new therapies. It is vital for Europe to play a leading role in genomic research and biotechnology, the new frontier of the 21st century. But we can only use its vast potential for improving our quality of life and Europe’s competitiveness if we are better organized across Europe to meet scientific challenges that go beyond the capacities of individual countries.”

The three projects funded are:

* Studies of European volunteer twins to identify genes involved in common diseases, co-ordinated by Prof. Leena Peltonen, Helsinki, Finland.

Because of their identical genetic makeup, twins represent an invaluable group for medical researchers to search for the potential genetic origins of common diseases. If it is seen with identical twins that both develop the same common disease in later life, this is a good indicator of a genetic basis for that disease.

This information, together with the knowledge of the genome sequence, will allow researchers to link gene sequences with disease. Identifying and understanding these genes opens the way for development of new diagnostic tools and new therapies.

By networking the major “twin registries” of Europe and the top researchers in the field, this European project will considerably increase the chances of identifying the genetic origins of common diseases such as cardiovascular disease. Proposed EU funding €13.4 million.

* Understanding human disease through mouse genomics, co-ordinated by Prof. Steve Brown, Harwell, UK, and Prof. Pierre Chambon, Strasbourg, France.

The mouse genome is 95% identical to the human genome and so mice with genetic diseases are potentially very good models for the equivalent human diseases. These models are essential to develop and test potential new treatments for human diseases.

In Europe, researchers have isolated mice that develop diseases like those seen in humans. However, to confirm the similarity between murine and human diseases, a large effort is needed for an in-depth analysis of each mouse strain.

This project aims to analyze in detail the large number of mouse mutants already available so that the best mouse model for a specific human disease can be efficiently identified. Another outcome of this European co-operation will be a reduction in the number of animals used in research. Proposed EU funding €12.3 million.

* Structural proteomics in Europe, co-ordinated by Prof. David Stuart, Oxford, UK, and Prof. Dino Moras, Strasbourg, France.

Genes code for proteins, and together, proteins carry out all the biological processes of life. Knowledge of the three dimensional (3D) structure of a particular protein is essential to predict its functions.

The structure/function analysis of normal proteins and proteins linked to disease is also of crucial importance for the pharmaceutical industry to develop new drugs. However, the determination of a protein structure is a lengthy and costly process requiring major equipment, infrastructures and know-how.

This European project will speed up the structure determination process by optimizing each step for high throughput, such as protein production, purification, crystallization and structure analysis. The structures of more than 600 proteins of medical interest will be identified. Proposed EU funding €13.7 million.

Through their size and scope and the world-class research teams involved, these projects will lead to substantial advances in understanding the links between the human genome and diseases, strengthen Europe’s position in this important field of research and eventually benefit patients.

In addition, the new features of these projects, their integrated nature and size, make them useful precursors to two of the “new” instruments, notably the integrated projects and the networks of excellence, proposed for the forthcoming Sixth Framework Program (2002-2006).

[Contact: Jacques Remacle, Bernard Mulligan, Stéphane Hogan ]

19-Mar-2002