The German independent research institute BioMed X has announced the successful completion of its second neuroscience collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim, focusing on psychiatric disorders, specifically schizophrenia. The research data has been acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim, which will continue the work with the potential to develop novel therapies for this challenging condition.
Launched in 2020 at the BioMed X Institute in Heidelberg, the project was led by Dr. Ebru Ercan Herbst, who now serves as a professor at Reutlingen University in Germany. Her team developed sophisticated platforms to investigate the myelination of neurons and the development of oligodendrocytes—a critical subtype of glial cells—within the context of schizophrenia.
Novel Research Platforms and Findings
The team's innovative in vitro platform for studying myelination was published in Cell Press - STAR Protocols last year. Additionally, they identified a relevant mouse model that exhibits the hypomyelination pathology associated with schizophrenia, providing a valuable tool for future research efforts.
Perhaps most significantly, the BioMed X neuroscientists conducted extensive RNA expression analysis of different human brain regions using post-mortem samples from schizophrenia patients and controls. Their soon-to-be-published findings reveal differentially expressed genes and pathways in schizophrenia brains, particularly in oligodendrocytes, compared to control brains.
These discoveries could have far-reaching implications beyond schizophrenia, potentially benefiting the development of therapies for other neurological disorders that share common hypomyelination pathology, including major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.
Continuing Collaboration
Dr. Christian Tidona, Managing Director and Founder of the BioMed X Institute, highlighted the significance of this milestone: "This is already our second successfully completed project with Boehringer Ingelheim in the field of psychiatry. We are looking forward to continuing our successful collaboration with our ongoing research projects in brain sensor development in Heidelberg and in the field of wound healing and fibrosis at our new joint XSeed Labs on the U.S. campus of Boehringer Ingelheim in Ridgefield, CT."
Hugh Marston, Global Head CNS Discovery Research at Boehringer Ingelheim, emphasized the value of the partnership: "Together with partners from across the global neuroscience community, we are constantly exploring new scientific avenues to address the huge unmet need of those living with mental health conditions. The partnership with BioMed X and the fruitful collaboration with Dr. Ercan Herbst's team has yielded exciting insights that will help us initiate projects to further progress our precision psychiatry approach to transform patients' lives."
Building on Previous Success
This achievement follows BioMed X's first successful neuroscience collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim, which was completed earlier. That project, launched in 2016 and led by Dr. Michał Ślęzak, focused on depression and uncovered the contribution of astrocytes—another type of glial cells—to molecular phenotypes in depression.
Using advanced genetic approaches and imaging methods, Dr. Ślęzak's team provided comprehensive insights into defective neuro-glia interactions and their consequences for neurotransmitter homeostasis. Their work led to the identification of molecular components regulating crucial processes impaired in depression and proposed novel glial-specific drug targets for depression therapy.
Bridging Academia and Industry
BioMed X operates as an independent research institute with locations in Heidelberg, Germany; New Haven, Connecticut; and XSeed Labs in Ridgefield, Connecticut, along with a worldwide network of partner locations. The institute's model combines global crowdsourcing with local incubation of early-career research talents, providing them with access to state-of-the-art research infrastructure and continuous guidance from experienced mentors from both academia and industry.
This hybrid approach enables breakthrough innovation by making biomedical research more efficient, agile, and engaging—effectively bridging the gap between academic exploration and industrial application in the pursuit of transformative treatments for challenging neurological and psychiatric conditions.
The successful completion of this schizophrenia research project represents another significant step forward in understanding the complex biological underpinnings of psychiatric disorders and developing targeted therapeutic approaches based on precise molecular mechanisms.
