A Progressive Approach to Open Innovation
We believe open innovation is about sharing and learning. The more you share with the scientific community, the more you learn. opnMe.com is our dedicated open science initiative and a natural extension of our progressive open innovation strategy which we believe will further the development of collaboration and openness within the drug discovery community and fuel even more scientific creativity and exchange.
opnMe – A Catalyst for Scientific Cooperation and Collaboration
It is estimated that most of the world’s molecular diversity is held in private chemical collections and therefore not accessible to the countless scientists in research institutions working to discover new therapies for the many diseases for which there are still no effective treatments1. opnMe helps to redress this imbalance by providing the tools and scientific exchange of knowledge to maximize the potential for new drug discovery.
opnMe.com provides free and open access to selected pre-clinical compounds for non-clinical investigation purposes. The molecules have been designated either as Molecules to Order (with no associated cost) or Molecules for Collaboration. Scientists interested in molecules for collaboration are invited to submit a research proposal. If the proposal is chosen, the research will be developed together with Boehringer Ingelheim scientists.
The compounds available are a selection of well-characterized, including many best-in-class, tool compounds that have been developed for some of the most relevant molecular targets in medical research. The molecules on opnMe.com have been synthesized according to the highest quality standards. They are provided with a comprehensive data package which will allow the correct interpretation of independent research findings using the tools and which ensures reproducibility of external experiments.
“Working together with scientists across the world, we can accelerate research in a wide range of biomedical research areas. This exciting new initiative further expands Boehringer Ingelheim’s global external innovation footprint and will help unlock the full potential of some of our most interesting compounds. By sharing these compounds with scientists around the world, we will advance scientific research and expect to spark discoveries that will lead to safe and effective new medicines for patients.”
Dr. Clive R. Wood, Head of Discovery Research
References
1 Reichman M and Simpson PB. (2016) Open Innovation in early drug discovery: roadmaps and roadblocks. Drug Discov Today 21, 779–788.