Boehringer Ingelheim Office Hours 2024: Shaping the Future of Innovation in Europe

Boehringer Ingelheim is actively supporting the next generation of innovators. One way to achieve this is through our "Office Hours" program, where start-ups, entrepreneurs, and scientists can chat with our experts in an informal setting.

We are renowned for our commitment to innovation and support for early-stage biotech companies. One of our flagship initiatives is the "Office Hours" program, a unique mentoring event that offers start-ups, entrepreneurs, and academic scientists personalized attention in an informal atmosphere. Maria Antonietta Impagnatiello, Barbara Drobits-Handl (both Business Development & Licensing), and Guido Boehmelt (Research Beyond Borders), organized the event, which is part of Boehringer Ingelheim´s Grass Roots initiatives.

“We are offering the Office Hours in Austria one or two times per year since 2017, and it is always inspiring for the Boehringer team to mentally dive into the concepts the innovators are bringing forward to the discussions. It is a very good, focused way for us to connect also to unexpected innovation in the community, which we otherwise might have missed”, stated Guido Boehmelt.

This years’ Office Hours call, organized in collaboration with LISAvienna, was a resounding success, with 18 applications from Life Science innovators across three European countries. Hosted at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in the Vienna BioCenter, six applicants were selected to join one-on-one roundtable discussions with Boehringer Ingelheim experts.

The feedback we've received from participants has been very positive.

Luis Emilio García Rabaneda, Xista Fellow at ISTA, stated "As a Xista fellow developing a spin-off project, participating in the Office Hours program has been highly beneficial for receiving early-stage feedback and advice. Boehringer Ingelheim's insight, both scientific and business-related, will significantly shape our goals".

Martina Hölbling and Harold P. de Vladar, founders of Discovery Evolution, a digital biologics company leveraging protein design algorithms and A.I. structure prediction for the discovery of novel biologic drugs, said “We are very honored about the opportunity to have been invited to participate at the Boehringer Office Hours 2024. We’ve got extremely valuable feed-back and support from all experts on the panel! We want to thank all involved parties again for this amazing meeting!”

Since the Office Hours program started in 2015, our experts mentored over 400 companies worldwide, and 49 in Austria. Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to provide expertise and feedback to help emerging businesses grow. We will continue to drive innovation and transform patients' lives together.

Want to learn more about our Grass Roots initiatives? Visit the website at Grass Roots | Boehringer Ingelheim (boehringer-ingelheim.com).