It is called InCube, an acronym that stands for innovative supplements for inflammation, the nutraceutical project that IBSA submitted as part of the National Operational Programme (NOP) “Enterprise and Competitiveness" 2014-2020, together with the Department of Experimental Medicine of the Luigi Vanvitelli University of Campania and Okolab, a company at the forefront of biomedical research. On May 11th, the project was given the green light by the Ministry for Economic Development (MISE) and is ready to enter the implementation phase, i.e., the development of innovative dietary supplements for the prevention and non-pharmacological treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions.
The InCube project aims to bring together, in a synergistic way, the expertise of businesses and public universities, and will see the involvement of IBSA’s three Italian research centres, at their respective sites in Ariano Irpino, Cassina de' Pecchi and Lodi. The total investment in the research project will amount to almost €5 million over a 3-year period.
“IBSA, as lead partner, will contribute about €3 million. The Project’s ultimate goal is to develop and validate, with a study in humans, at least two innovative dietary supplements for chronic inflammatory conditions,” comments Andrea Giori, Head of Research & Development.
The innovation model underlying the project is to develop clinically tested supplements to complete the pharma lines, through a synergy of indications and scientific promotion. Special focus will be given to people's needs, so IBSA will encourage the development of innovative dosage forms such as soft gelatin capsules and orodispersible films, which take into account the needs of specific groups of people such as children, the elderly, dysphagic patients, and travelers.
“For all these groups, orodispersible film supplements, a technology that sees IBSA among the leading companies worldwide, are one of the most advantageous and can be developed, industrialised and produced in one of the group's Italian plants, creating a supply chain entirely Made in Italy,” concludes Giori.
The project’s approval by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and the award of the grant, including a direct contribution to expenditure, came at the end of a long and rigorous selection process that lasted more than a year, which awarded only the best among the 137 projects submitted for “nutraceuticals" in the NOP Agrifood area.