opn2EXPERTS General FAQs

• Scientists within Boehringer Ingelheim Discovery Research define the individual questions. As part of our opn2EXPERTS program, we and invite scientists to submit for innovate solutions addressing biological or pharmacological topics. Our questions are shared for a brief time only, during which scientific experts join with their individual research collaboration proposals.
• After this period, questions may remain published on opnMe.com. This is to allow scientists to contact us also at a later stage, should they come up with innovative ideas.
• The questions may have a strong practical component. Hence practical laboratory experience and access to a laboratory will be required in most instances in order to be selected as a winner of a call.

For technological topics, please consult our techMATCH program.

• You can expect appropriate funding for the subsequent collaboration with us, should your proposed answer be selected by our research teams. The funding would cover direct and indirect costs. In case all requirements are met, you can expect funding of up to 200,000 euros.
• Close interaction and support from experienced Boehringer Ingelheim drug discovery scientists.
• The opportunity for a funded stay at Boehringer Ingelheim for technology exchange / training may be available, as is the access to custom biological tools and reagents.
• Our collaboration agreement will provide full transparency about each partner’s rights & obligations (including intellectual property rights).
• As part of the agreement, you will be encouraged to publish according to the collaboration agreement (to be negotiated in good faith).
• The winner may be announced publicly in social networks and on the opnMe.com website.

• We highly recommend using our answer submission template to provide a 2-3 page non-confidential proposal plus potential references. The document consists of a “general” part that requires the contact details of the submitting scientists and their organizations. In addition, an “answer part” which allows the structured entry of your suggested approach to address our question.
• The scientist with the right answer may bring a specific technical expertise in his or her discipline that provides an answer to our question from a different, potentially unexpected angle. Hence, the scientific background might be different from the area of the question. Your expertise should be documented by key references and publications.
• Experts not directly linked to the subject or the field of the therapeutic domain are also highly encouraged to apply if they consider their solutions new or innovative for the question.
• Active access to a laboratory and the ability to implement the idea is required for this question.

Our aim is to find scientists with a novel idea to address our questions. We offer funding for collaboration with the winning scientists of our call.

All incoming answers are evaluated by Boehringer Ingelheim scientists and the selected ideas are normally pursued through a joint collaboration. Initial answers should be short and address the following areas to allow rapid evaluation of your ideas. The submitted proposal must not contain any confidential data. The following information is highly encouraged

• Title of the innovative idea
• Rephrasing of the question to be solved and outline of the answer including innovative aspects
• Information about potentially existing test systems and preliminary data
• Proposed collaboration project plan with key decision points
• Initial funding request
• Information on potential conflicting intellectual property rights of third parties and freedom to operate
• References

A template provided by us will help you to compile the information required.

We are seeking research collaboration proposals that contain:

• A well-structured proposal outlining a new and compelling scientific idea.
• A novel, testable working hypothesis distinct from those previously published.
• Framing the questions and the innovation aspects that includes a well thought-through project plan with key decision points and budget requirements.
• Proven record of accomplishment in the required field of expertise.
• Outlining the technical feasibility of the innovative proposed approach.
• The quality and feasibility of potentially existing data and/or the experimental plan that will be used to test the hypothesis.

If confidential data exists that would strengthen the proposal, you may indicate that confidential information is available to share under a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA). If we find the non-confidential concept proposal sufficiently interesting, we will execute a CDA for confidential discussions.

You can expect appropriate funding for the collaboration period should your proposal become selected by our review team. In case all conditions of the call are met, you can apply for funding of up to 200,000 euros.

Boehringer Ingelheim scientists with relevant expertise will provide you with an evaluation of your collaboration proposal within 6 weeks after the submission deadline of the individual question. Should there be mutual interest in proceeding with the proposed answer, you would be contacted by a Boehringer Ingelheim scientist to discuss the research plan in more detail and to understand how we can best support your idea. The timeframe for the start of a collaboration may be different for each collaboration.

No. Applications will be shared inside Boehringer Ingelheim amongst a team of scientists designated to evaluate proposals for potential funding. They will not be visible to, or shared with, scientists from other institutions.

Our collaboration agreement will provide full transparency about each partner’s rights & obligations (including intellectual property rights). As part of the agreement, you will be encouraged to publish following the collaboration agreement (to be negotiated in good faith).

If you would like to modify and re-upload your proposal, the easiest way would be to start a new submission process and submit your updated proposal that way. Please let us know of the initial proposal ID that you would like to retract, so we can delete it accordingly from our system and only consider your updated proposal for the evaluation process.