Esperite announced that it has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation Programme for development and characterization of the extracellular vesicles (EVs) drug CF- MEV-126 for treatment of stroke. The project is focused on the development of the 2nd generation EVs drug, with enhanced anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities. The Cell Factory is investigating therapeutic properties of the EVs biologic drugs in the treatment of neurological diseases. Currently, the Company is developing two drug candidates for the treatment of neuroinflammatory diseases, CF-MEV-117 for drug-resistant epilepsy in children and CF-MEV-126 for treatment of stroke. The EU funding will support the development of the new generation EVs drug CF- MEV-126 containing an additional genetic cargo (miRNAs) to enhance their anti- inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. In addition, the funding will allow a better understanding of the EVs mode of action in the treatment of stroke and other neurological diseases. Stroke is the second leading cause of disability in Europe, and 10-35% of these patients die within 28-30 days. Current stroke therapy is very limited and mainly focused on general care and rehabilitation. Most of the stroke injuries are caused by the brain ischemia (87%), and the rest by haemorrhage. Inflammation plays a crucial role in the brain's response to stroke incident. The pathologic processes proceeding the stroke event can be divided into 3 phases: acute (minutes to hours), subacute (hours to days) and chronic (days to months). EVs drug products could target all the phases. The most important property of the EVs, when comparing to the cell therapy, is their potential use during the acute phase. The EVs products can be cryo-preserved without cryoprotectants, and therefore they can be used immediately after thawing with no need of washing, centrifugation and viability tests. EVs are also safer when comparing to the MSCs due to their small size and lack of HLA markers (both class I and II). All these properties would make possible to use EVs drugs outside the hospital immediately after the stroke incident. Another advantage of the EVs, when comparing to MSCs and other cell therapies, is their penetration through the blood-brain barrier what is crucial for any effective treatment targeting the central nervous system. An increasing number of studies are focusing on the involvement of microRNAs in the regulation of immune responses. Experimental data suggest that specific microRNAs in MSC-EVs could modulate the expression of inflammation-related genes. In addition, the EVs' miRNA cargo can be modified at the stage of the MSCs culture (before the EVs secretion) or after the EVs release by MSCs. The Cell Factory will use the new generation sequencing (NGS) technology for the analysis of miRNA in the newly established Esperite's genetic laboratory in Niel.