German independent research institute BioMed X has announced the start of a research project entitled ‘Advanced Biomarker Detection for Pharmacological Monitoring in the Brain,’ in collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim. The objective of the ‘BDB’ research group is to develop a continuous monitoring biosensor for the detection of small molecule biomarkers in rodent brain tissue with the ultimate goal of improving the development of treatment approaches in precision psychiatry, an area of focus for Boehringer.
The institute has worked closely with Boehringer since 2014, with the current project marking the partners’ fifth research collaboration. It will join the companies’ two ongoing collaborative projects, in immunology and neuroscience.
“The process of developing active drugs for the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases involves establishing a robust relationship between the pharmacodynamic effect and the pharmacokinetic parameters of new drug candidates”, said Dr Khulan Sergelen, Group Leader of team BDB. “Our main task is the development of a new minimally invasive molecular biosensor, including molecular design and assay development, biocompatible sensor architecture, and optical sensor integration for in vivo monitoring.” Sergelen adds.
Christian Tidona, founder and MD of the BioMed X Institute: “The new project will further strengthen and significantly extend our institute’s expertise and capabilities in the field of neuroscience and sensor development. We are eager to add another success story to our long term partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim and with this new technology platform we are looking forward to contributing to the discovery of new biology in neuropsychiatric diseases.”