Cardiac diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Restoring the damaged heart tissue remains an unmet clinical need, and new treatments are needed to recover the injured myocardium. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have shown potential for cardiac repair. However, low retention and stability after systemic administration and challenges in their large-scale production limit their clinical translation. 

The HG4Heart project aims to develop new regenerative therapies for cardiac repair by combining EVs with biomaterials. We propose to develop and evaluate engineered hydrogel (HG) technologies to improve EVs delivery to the heart. Our conceptual approach spans from the scalable production and isolation of EVs (WP1) to their incorporation in HG-based systems (WP2). After characterizing the developed HG-loaded EVs, the preclinical evaluation of the efficacy and safety of the developed candidates will be assessed in small animal models of chronic myocardial infarction and the therapeutic mechanisms will be investigated (WP3). Finally, to render our EV-based strategy clinically feasible, the project will consider aspects of its large-scale GMP production (WP4).

This innovative project brings together three countries (Spain, France and The Netherlands) and four multidisciplinary research teams combining academic and industrial groups with complementary expertise in drug delivery, EVs, cellular and molecular biology and preclinical studies. Questions addressed in this proposal will allow us to move faster towards clinical application by improving EV production and local delivery strategies. Apart from knowledge transfer to the scientific community and the public, HG4Heart project will reduce costs for the healthcare system in the cardiovascular therapeutic area. All research will be conducted with the vision of a possible pharmaceutical development, which in case of success, will facilitate the transfer of the scientific concepts into scalable drug delivery systems.