12 May 2025
Mental illness affects a significant portion of the global population, with many individuals struggling to find effective treatment. Impulse control dysfunction, characterized by the tendency to act prematurely without foresight, and compulsivity, the urge to perform repetitive behaviors despite adverse results, is a common symptom cluster across various diagnoses. Consequently, it is prevalent in diagnoses such as borderline personality disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder, autism, and Tourette's syndrome. The consequences of impulsive and compulsive behavior can be severe, negatively impacting quality of life and overall functioning.
Currently, there is a lack of approved medications specifically targeting impulse control, highlighting the need for novel treatment options. Therefore, we invite with our opnMe call scientific experts to submit their research proposals addressing the following question:
How would you propose to identify and verify novel molecular mechanisms that lead to improved control of impulsive and compulsive behavior?
Eligible solutions may include new innovative approaches to identify and validate novel molecular pathways, identified targets and associated ligands, or strategies to link clinical impulse control to predictive preclinical models. We invite scientists with different backgrounds, ranging from academia, start-ups, biotech, or even larger enterprises such as pharmaceutical or digital life science companies to join for this opnMe call. The Neuroscience & Mental Health Discovery Research team at Boehringer Ingelheim will review the submitted proposals and winning proposals should expect appropriate funding that will help them to bring their conceptual idea and/or discovery (invention) collaboratively to the next level.
Submit your ideas now, as your proposals can only be accepted if they arrive by July 8, 2025, 11:59 pm PST.
No registration required
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About our opn2EXPERTS question:
How to identify and verify novel molecular mechanisms that lead to improved control of impulsive and compulsive behavior?
With ambitious questions such as this, we share precisely formulated scientific questions with the research community as part of our opn2EXPERTS program. Together with winning teams, we intend to explore novel solutions for discovery research that will ultimately benefit the needs of patients.
About opnMe:
opnMe.com, the open innovation portal of Boehringer Ingelheim, fosters science and collaboration initiatives in areas of high unmet medical need. As part of our first pillar, the “Molecules to Order”, we share well-characterized tool compounds free of charge with no IP strings attached. These are complemented by “Molecules for Collaboration” where we offer access to unprecedented, often unpublished molecules, together with an attractive funding package. Interested scientists are invited to submit testable research hypotheses with these assets in novel diseases or combinations. With our “opn2EXPERTS” program, we enlist scientific advice on key biologic issues to fuel further drug discovery and deliver novel solutions that benefit unmet patient needs. Find out more about our recent call to identify myeloid/stromal tumor biomarkers. Our opn2TALENTS PostDoc grants provide an opportunity for high-caliber talents to pitch their scientific approaches for well-defined research questions to conduct their research at one of our discovery research sites.