22 September 2025
Endometriosis is a chronic, estrogen-driven condition characterized by the growth of uterine-like tissue outside the uterus. These ectopic lesions invade nearby tissues, triggering inflammation, neo-neuroangiogenesis, and fibrosis—a hallmark of the disease. Fibrosis is consistently present in all lesion types and plays a pivotal role in disease progression and pelvic pain, the most debilitating symptom that significantly impacts patients' quality of life.
Targeting fibrosis in endometriotic lesions may represent a promising therapeutic strategy. However, current preclinical models fail to replicate the chronic fibrosis observed in humans, limiting our ability to fully understand the disease mechanisms and develop effective treatments. Furthermore, the intricate interplay of signaling pathways driving lesion formation within fibrotic environments remains poorly understood. While rodent models have provided valuable insights into inflammation and immune dysregulation, they lack the complexity of human fibrotic pathology.
To address these critical gaps and advance the understanding and treatment of endometriosis, we invite scientific experts to submit innovative research proposals addressing the following question:
How would you propose to develop an in vivo endometriosis model reflecting fibrotic pathophysiology of human lesions and identify actionable therapeutic strategies?
An innovative endometriosis in vivo model should enable target identification and validation of fibrotic pathomechanisms, display histologically measurable fibrosis, and enable fibrosis biomarker identification. It should also provide measurable abdominal pain or behavioral readouts indicative of discomfort.
The Eye Health & Research Beyond Borders team at Boehringer Ingelheim will review all incoming submissions, and selected proposals will receive an annual funding of up to 150,000 euros for a maximum duration of two years.
Submit your ideas now, as your proposals can only be accepted if they arrive by November 12, 2025, 11:59 pm PST.
No registration required
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About our opn2EXPERTS question:
How would you propose to develop an in vivo endometriosis model reflecting fibrotic pathophysiology of human lesions and identify actionable therapeutic strategies? 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. With our “opn2EXPERTS” and “techMATCH” programs, we enlist scientific advice on key biologic issues to fuel further drug discovery and deliver novel solutions that benefit unmet patient needs. 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.