In-cytes A High-density Microelectrode Array Platform For Large-scale Intracellular Functional Assays: In-Cytes

Programme(s): H2020-EU.2.3.2.2. - Enhancing the innovation capacity of SMEs
Topic(s): INNOSUP-02-2019-2020 - European SME innovation Associate - pilot
Call for proposal: H2020-INNOSUP-2019-02
Funding Scheme: CSA - Coordination and support action

Grant agreement ID: 861712

Objective
MaxWell Biosystems AG (MxW) is a Swiss public limited company (AG) who developed electrophysiological platforms (hardware-software-bioassays) for basic research and drug testing on nerve cells. MxW’s aim is to develop In-Cytes, a radically innovative electrophysiology platform to assess neural connectivity for preclinical drug discovery for brain diseases. In contrast to the state-of-the-art technologies for quantifying neural connectivity, which either estimate indirect connectivity or feature poor spatial resolution, In-Cytes can measure physiological direct neural intracellular connectivity among thousands of neurons. This directly addresses the industrial need in pharmacy for neural connectivity bioassays, featuring high-throughput and minimum interference with neurons’ physiology for the development of effective drugs to cure neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

The proposed recruitment of an Innovation Associate will have significant impact on the business opportunities of MxW by bringing in lacking expertise for the development of In-Cytes. The envisaged grant will help to overcome the recruitment barriers of being a relatively unknown, small start-up enterprise that cannot compete with larger companies due to limited visibility, brand awareness, (perceived) career opportunities, salary and recruitment budget.

The development of In-Cytes requires the employment of an academic expert with a multidisciplinary set of skills combining knowledge in neuroscience, microfabrication and data analysis. In turn, the innovation associate will have the opportunity to become an expert in the emerging field of bio-engineering. It is in the interest of the company to continue the employment after the initial year in order to develop the first prototype of In-Cytes into an industrial end product.