[Takeoff #6] Securing European Horizon Funding

[Article, Video] - Published on June 20, 2023 in Valuation

Evelina Colacino is a professor and researcher at the Charles Gerhadt Institute in Montpellier. Using mechanochemistry, she works to produce molecules of pharmaceutical interest in a more environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and efficient manner. In 2022, the researcher secured €7.7 million in European Horizon funding; she discusses this in the “Décollage” series produced by the University of Montpellier’s Directorate of Innovation and Partnerships (DIPA).

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most polluting sectors on the planet, with a carbon footprint larger than that of the automotive industry. To reduce this environmental impact, Evelina Colacino, a chemist at the Charles Gerhardt Institute, proposes mechanochemistry. This technology eliminates the need for solvents used in traditional chemistry to synthesize molecules of pharmaceutical interest—the actual active ingredients in our medications. While this technology is already used in other industrial sectors, theIMPACTIVEproject (Innovative Mechanochemical Processes to Synthesize Green Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) is the first to apply it to the pharmaceutical industry.

Led by the University of Montpellier, this project—which brings together 17 partners, including universities, research laboratories, and the companies Merck and Novartis—is coordinated by chemist Evelina Colacino of the Charles Gerhardt Institute in Montpellier. With support from the DIPA, the European Union has awarded €7.7 million in funding to the researcher and her consortium to develop this technology, which holds promise in many fields. 

Keywords: Takeoff, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Partnerships, Research