Boehringer Ingelheim and BioMed X have successfully applied a crowdsourcing approach to establish a research team of scientists from around the world for COPD research, according to the companies.
The team of scientists will attempt to identify new approaches for the treatment of patients with COPD. The interdisciplinary team will focus on the characterization of epigenetic regulators driving hallmarks of the COPD pathophysiology, according to a Boehringer Ingelheim news release.
Renata Jurkowska will head the research team that will be established in the BioMed X Innovation Center, which is located on the campus of the University of Heidelberg. The research team will be sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim for 2 years with the option to extend the funding period up to a total of 4 years.
Christian Tidona, founder and managing director of BioMed X, says, “The newly formed research team will build on our strong scientific networks in Heidelberg and the Biotech Cluster Rhine-Neckar. The team will be guided by experienced mentors from academia and Boehringer Ingelheim and will receive an intensive entrepreneurship and leadership training.”
“We are very enthusiastic about working with this highly motivated team of talented scientists at the BioMed X Innovation Center. We firmly believe that crowd sourcing is an exciting and refreshing way to find unconventional solutions based on the diversity of talents and ideas,” says Michel Pairet, senior corporate vice president of research and non-clinical development at Boehringer Ingelheim.
Pairet adds, “This project is ideally suited to integrate breakthrough science in epigenetics research and emerging insights into the pathophysiology of COPD. Understanding epigenetic mechanisms will allow us to discover unknown drivers of the disease and accelerate the discovery of new medicines for treating patients with COPD.”
Source: Boehringer Ingelheim
