A marketplace for molecules
Through the online platform opnMe, Boehringer Ingelheim provides researchers with molecules for free, fostering independent innovations and spawning numerous important publications within the scientific community. This initiative also facilitates research collaborations with external scientists around the world, enabling a direct impact on our research pipeline and creating new starting points for novel therapies for patients with unmet needs.
What is opnMe?
opnMe is the open science portal of Boehringer Ingelheim. This platform provides free and open access to selected pre-clinical compounds for non-clinical investigation purposes. Over the years, the range of opnMe has expanded. Through various collaboration programs, Boehringer now also offers research funding in connection with specific scientific topics. In addition, the portal offers PostDoc Grants at our discovery and development sites, where young scientists could continue their careers in the pharmaceutical industry.
Insights into research: Laura-Marie Zimmermann’s story
The aorta may be visualized as a sort of multilayered hose. Without the outer reinforcement layer, parts of this blood vessel – the largest in the body – start to bulge. If an aneurysm like this bursts, the chances of survival are very low. But why does the aorta weaken? And can aneurysms be prevented by drugs? These are the questions to which university student Laura-Marie Zimmermann devoted her research when she started her doctoral thesis at the University Hospital Cologne in 2019.
Her research pointed to the enzyme MMP-13 as the culprit, because it digests the supportive collagen layer in blood vessels and can thereby weaken the aorta. “I wanted to find an antagonist – an MMP-13 inhibitor – to block the enzyme,” says Zimmerman, a biochemist. “I did intensive research on the internet and found what I was looking for at Boehringer Ingelheim.” The doctoral student stumbled across opnMe, a database with around 90 molecules from pharmaceutical research, which the company provides to researchers for free.
Support by opnMe
“I ordered the necessary quantity of MMP-13 inhibitor and control substance online on the website. A few days later, the package arrived with the two vials filled with powder, I and was able to start the preclinical experiment right away,” says Zimmermann. “The opnMe team also helped me with the handling of the substance in the laboratory.”
This established the proper conditions for investigating the molecule right there in the laboratory. After three years of research, Zimmermann published her results.
“Thanks to opnMe, I had a great start. Today, a second PhD student is working on the project and is continuing my work,”
Dr. Laura Marie Zimmermann, user of the opnMe platform, who has after founded the Biorizon Consulting in Singapore.
Success stories and global reach
Markus Köster, head of the opnMe project at Boehringer Ingelheim, reports numerous success stories.
“There are about 100,000 molecular biologists in the world. With opnMe, we have around 6,000 registered users from 72 countries – an impressive number for our niche, which has tripled since 2020.”
To date, opnMe has received around 2,500 orders from 53 countries, with an average of three molecules per order. The current blockbusters are called BI-2852 and ACBI1 with more than 300 orders each.
“Behind every order there is a research project, and so far more than 190 publications have emerged”, says Köster.
An important success factor is not only the free release of the molecules but also the technical support of the researchers.
Markus Köster explains the benefits of opnMe.
On average, in pharmaceutical research, preclinical molecules fail to reach the market as approved drugs in 96% of cases, because for various reasons they aren’t suited to the particular research approach. With opnMe, many of them get a second chance when they are picked up independently by other scientists. If a molecule is “rescued” by a new idea from outside, it may suddenly become a promising candidate again for an innovative and often urgently needed treatment approach. With opnMe, we are making a valuable contribution to medical research, and that fills me with gratitude and satisfaction.
At Molecules-to-Order (M2O), it’s the external scientists, who can apply for a utility patent for their results. They may also publish completely independently of us, which is very important in academic research.
The platform facilitates networking with scientists around the world: Traditionally, a pharmaceutical company has an established research network, and is always drawing from the same pool of experts. This means everyone is researching on the same topics. With opnMe, we follow a different path, and come into contact with lots of other good research groups and their ideas. As part of our opn2Talents program, in collaboration with HR, we also recruit postdocs worldwide, who have great ideas about specific scientific queries on opnMe.