Explore nociplastic pain mechanisms
How would you propose to identify and validate molecular targets that underlie the central neurobiological mechanisms involved in chronic pain, specifically nociplastic pain?
Roberto Arban
Director
Discovery Research Neuroscience & Mental Health
René Fuertig
Global Head of
Neuroscience & Mental Health BD+L
Call for proposals: All incoming answers accompanied by a collaboration proposal will be evaluated by a scientific jury, and, upon selection, chosen proposals are pursued through a joint collaboration with the successful applicants based on mutually agreed funding terms.
More information
Pain is a subjective, complex, and unpleasant sensory and emotional experience. Importantly, pain—particularly chronic pain—cannot be fully explained by the activity of sensory neurons alone. Instead, pain perception in the brain is shaped by the interaction between peripheral pain generators and the somatosensory, affective, and cognitive systems.
Current treatment options for pain are limited by their restricted effectiveness and the side effects they may cause. Furthermore, anti-inflammatory drugs and opioids are largely ineffective in managing nociplastic pain conditions, such as fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Nociplastic pain, as defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), refers to "pain that arises or is sustained by altered nociception, despite the absence of tissue damage." Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop new pharmacological treatments for individuals suffering from chronic pain in general, and nociplastic pain in particular.
Chronic pain is often accompanied by centrally mediated symptoms, including intrusive fatigue, sleep disturbances, impaired cognitive and physical functions, and psychological distress. In this context, targeting central (brain) mechanisms involved in pain processing may offer therapeutic benefits across different pain categories, including nociplastic pain.
Ideally, pharmacological modulation of molecular targets expressed in brain regions involved in pain processing—and that can also address the associated central symptoms mentioned above—may represent novel therapeutic opportunities for treating these medical conditions.
As part of our current opnMe call, we are seeking to identify novel central molecular mechanisms that could lead to effective treatments for chronic pain with a focus on nociplastic pain.
- Any unconventional but feasible approach considering the identification and validation of molecular mechanisms and targets which are likely to play a role in modulating pain processing within the relevant brain circuits.
- A proposal describing a specific molecular target that was identified and validated with an approach as described in (1).
- Drug discovery projects based on novel targets and/or mechanisms based on (1) and (2) such as small molecules drugs, biologicals, peptides, and new modalities such as antibody-drug conjugates, but not yet public, are of interest.
- Any basic research approach in humans used for the identification of novel targets involved in central pain processing.
- Any approach investigating circuits/networks involved in central (brain) mechanisms related to chronic pain, specifically nociplastic pain.
- Analgesic mechanisms (e.g. lidocaine like)
- Anti migraine treatment
- Peripheral mechanisms involving nerve-injury in the peripheral nervous system
- Mechanisms exclusively acting in the spinal cord
- Any opioid replacement/substitution therapy approaches
- Anti-inflammatory treatment approaches
- Psychedelics
- Gene and cell therapies
- Repurposing of old drugs
- Biomarker discovery/validation
This call represents a unique chance to impact discovery research in the field of central mechanisms of pain. By participating, you have the opportunity to collaborate directly with the Neuroscience and Mental Health Discovery Research teams of Boehringer Ingelheim.
Successful proposals will not only impact our understanding of central brain pain processes but also be rewarded with tailored and scalable funding packages and / or if IP is involved, appropriate business options along well-defined parameters.
We predict that eligible solutions may come from scientists with very different backgrounds, ranging from academia, start-ups, biotech, or even larger enterprises such as pharmaceutical or digital life science companies.
Winning proposals should therefore expect appropriate funding that will help them to bring their conceptual idea and/or discovery (invention) to the next relevant inflection point within the next one to two years. The following inflection points are in scope: Hit screening, preclinical in vivo proof of concept, lead structure and optimization, and candidate selection. Explicitly out of scope are IND related drug development packages that are not related to the new therapeutic concept validation. Depending on the complexity and maturity of a proposed solution, it may require different budget terms that would be negotiated with the selected partners in good faith. If applicable, respective business options will be negotiated with winning proposals.
Depending on the status of the project and applicability, we also offer a range of possibilities to support the winner besides funding. Examples are access to high-quality molecules, execution of pharmacokinetics studies, and collaboration with experts in fields from neuroscience.
In case a project proposal has reached sufficient maturity to build on existing – or reasonably soon to be filed – IP, licensing, or options to licensing agreements, or similar business collaborations could be considered as well. Upon successful outcome, we may engage in a long-term collaboration with the selected winner.
We are particularly interested in finding mutually agreeable solutions concerning each partner’s rights and obligations (including intellectual property rights). Furthermore, winners will be encouraged to publish their findings in accordance with the collaboration agreement, which will be negotiated in good faith. We hope that this represents a great opportunity for your innovative ideas and solutions to gain recognition in the scientific community.
For some winners, it may be beneficial to announce their partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim. Depending on the conditions of the agreement and mutual needs, we would be open for such an arrangement.
Our scientific review will address the following key success criteria for selecting winning proposals:
- The proposed solution must be based on a compelling scientific hypothesis and addresses the in-scope and out-of-scope criteria of this call.
- A well-structured proposal with a clear outline of the required funding budget, actionable milestones, and a time plan where it should be assumed that Boehringer Ingelheim would fund the next step towards proof-of-concept of the proposed approach for brain-mediated pain mechanisms.
- Ideally, the proposed solution is backed up by relevant (preliminary) data, and it should be based on established and existing methods, assays and involve tools, reagents, or data that are accessible.
- A mitigation plan should be included to overcome the anticipated hurdles that also includes a contingency plan in case one approach may not lead to the desired outcome.
- Information regarding intellectual property / third party infringement used in the context of the submission.
- The access to relevant infrastructure to implement the proposed solution is a prerequisite of a collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim.
- Ability to reach tangible results within a timeframe of approximately one to two years to reach the next decision point on preclinical or clinical research or milestone towards clinical readiness.
Please use our answer submission template to provide a 2–3 page non-confidential proposal (available for download here).
If confidential data exists that would strengthen the proposal, please indicate that 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.
We are currently seeking answers for the following scientific question: How would you propose to identify and validate molecular targets that underlie the central neurobiological mechanisms involved in chronic pain, specifically nociplastic pain?
All incoming answers accompanied by a collaboration proposal will be evaluated by a scientific jury, and, upon selection, chosen proposals are pursued through a joint collaboration with the successful applicants based on mutually agreed funding terms.
We can only accept research proposals if they arrive no later than January 28, 2026, 11:59 pm PST.
