24 August 2026
The discovery and development of innovative medicines increasingly depend on the ability to rapidly design, synthesize, test, and analyze new molecules. Recent advances in automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence are creating unprecedented opportunities to transform the way medicinal chemistry and chemical development are performed.
A key opportunity lies in automating the complete ”Make” phase of the Design-Make-Test-Analyze (DMTA) cycle, from reagent handling and reaction execution to purification, analytics, and data capture. Such intelligent synthesis platforms could accelerate compound generation, improve reproducibility, expand accessible chemical space, and free scientists to focus on creativity and scientific innovation.
Through this call on opnMe, we invite researchers, technology developers, start-ups, and companies to submit innovative proposals addressing the following question:
How would you propose delivering an autonomous end-to-end automated small molecule synthesis solution for medicinal chemistry or chemical development application?
We are particularly interested in solutions that:
- Integrate the complete synthesis workflow from reagent handling to purified compound delivery
- Combine automation, robotics, and AI/ML technologies
- Enable autonomous workflow execution with comprehensive data capture
- Demonstrate applicability to medicinal chemistry workflows through relevant laboratory-scale operation
- Demonstrate a technology readiness level (TRL) of at least 4 or 5
- Offer flexibility for reaction optimization and continuous learning workflows
Selected teams will have the opportunity to collaborate directly with experts from Boehringer Ingelheim's Medicinal Chemistry, Chemical Development, and Laboratory Automation & Robotics organizations. Winning proposals can expect appropriate funding to advance their technology toward the next development milestone and may form the basis for a long-term strategic collaboration.
Submit your proposal now. Proposals will only be accepted if received through October 14, 2026, 11:59 pm PST.
No registration required
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About our techMATCH question:
How would you propose delivering an autonomous end-to-end automated small molecule synthesis solution for medicinal chemistry or chemical development application? Through challenges such as this, we share precisely formulated technology challenges with the research community as part of our techMATCH program. Our ambition is to gain access to the next generation of intelligent synthesis workflows that can rapidly translate molecular designs into high-quality compounds. Together with selected partners, we aim to evaluate and advance innovative technologies that could transform medicinal chemistry and chemical development.
About opnMe:
opnMe.com, the open science portal of Boehringer Ingelheim, fosters science and collaboration initiatives in areas of high unmet medical need. Our molecules are provided to the scientific community either free of charge as “Molecules to Order” or applied for via scientific research submissions as “Molecules for Collaboration”. Through techMATCH, we connect external innovators with Boehringer Ingelheim experts to address technology challenges in areas such as automation, digitalization, robotics, and AI-enabled drug discovery.