Project: Impact Biomolecules

Launched in 2017 and financed by a €6m loan under the Grand emprunt future investments scheme, Project Impact Biomolecules of Lorraine University of Excellence (LUE) is developing federative and focused research conducted by 17 research laboratories and multiple companies. The shared objective of this open consortium is to mobilise the whole range of expertise in order to become a major player in developing the bioeconomy. The project is seeking to establish a Biomolecules–Bioengineering–Bioeconomy Network (3B Network) to produce new functionalised and vectorised biomolecules for the following markets: agro-chemicals, biocontrol, agri-food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and medicine.

The project is focusing on major biological activities: anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferation and anti-oxidising. These decisions were motivated by: (i) the positioning of the private sector partners in these markets, and (ii) the internationally recognised expertise in these fields enjoyed by the consortium’s laboratories, which will enable the biological merits of the biomolecules to be validated right up to the pre-clinical and pre-commercialisation stages.

The scientific challenges for the partners of Project Impact Biomolecules include the study of interactions between the living organisms (microorganisms, plants) responsible for synthesising new substances, the design of molecules inspired by nature, controlling their action via functionalisation or encapsulation/vectorisation and the validation of their biological activity for incorporation within industrial and pharmaceutical products.

One of the major strengths of the project is the complementary nature of the expertise available at the participating laboratories and companies, able to cover all biomolecule development stages towards commercialisation, from initial discovery to validation of their mechanism of action.

The general objectives of Project IMPACT BIOMOLECULES:

• To intensify public/private sector collaborative research activities in the bioengineering sector at the local, national and international level. This research activity ranges from the identification and generation of interesting new biomolecules, their functionalisation, vectorisation and integration within complex matrices and the characterisation of their biological activities.
• To develop interdisciplinary projects between biologists, biotechnologists, chemists and medical physicists to bring about the emergence of new fields of research.
• To generate commercialisable products and technologies in close collaboration with private sector partners.
• To develop a new master’s programme in bioengineering and bioeconomy to train future leaders in the field, aligning this training with research work and drawing on the range of expertise enjoyed by the project partners (both public and private sector).