XSeed Labs Initiates U.S. Research Collaboration With Boehringer Ingelheim

XSeed Labs, a collaboration between BioMed X and Boehringer Ingelheim, has announced the launch of its inaugural research team at the Boehringer Ingelheim campus in Ridgefield, Connecticut. This team aims to develop complex disease models to enhance the understanding of dysfunctional wound healing and fibrosis. The ultimate goal is to study fibrosis, drug delivery strategies, and drug safety concurrently to bridge the gap between research and development for better patient outcomes.

The new research team is led by Dr. Lorenzo Talà, Group Leader at XSeed Labs. Dr. Talà stated, "Due to insufficient understanding of the mechanisms driving their pathology, therapies to treat fibrotic diseases are limited. Our aim is to develop physiologically relevant in vitro and in silico fibrosis models. By combining both approaches, we will interrogate disease mechanisms, identify drug delivery pathways, and assess drug safety to facilitate drug development toward resolving fibrotic tissues."

Christian Tidona, Founder and Managing Director of the BioMed X Institute, expressed satisfaction with the successful translation of their innovation model from Heidelberg and New Haven to a major pharma research campus. "We have a long history of successful collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim at our Heidelberg institute, and we are proud to extend this collaboration to their U.S. headquarters in Ridgefield, Connecticut," Tidona remarked.

Commitment to Innovation

Carine Boustany, PhD, U.S. Research Site Head and Global Head of Immunology and Respiratory Diseases Research at Boehringer Ingelheim, highlighted the partnership's potential. "We are committed to accelerating innovation across fibrotic diseases. This partnership allows us to harness top talent across the biomedical industry and leverage our leading research and development site in the U.S. to discover insights that could help transform the way we treat these diseases," she said.

Safety Assessments and Drug Delivery

Xiaorong He, PhD, U.S. Development Site Head and Global Head of Development Sciences at Boehringer Ingelheim, added that innovative disease model systems would be used to assess the safety of novel anti-fibrotic concepts and identify better ways to deliver molecules.

Future Prospects

Mark Johnston, CEO of BioMed X USA, expressed enthusiasm for starting the first XSeed Labs team at Boehringer Ingelheim in Ridgefield. "It is the beginning of a unique innovation model that promotes scientific exchange between major players in biomedical research," Johnston noted.

About BioMed X and XSeed Labs

BioMed X is an independent research institute with sites in Heidelberg, Germany; New Haven, Connecticut; XSeed Labs in Ridgefield, Connecticut; and a global network of partner locations. The institute identifies significant biomedical research challenges and provides creative solutions by combining global crowdsourcing with local incubation of early-career research talents.

BioMed X started collaborating with Boehringer Ingelheim in 2015 through joint research projects hosted by the BioMed X Institute in Heidelberg. The new collaboration model—XSeed Labs—entails an open innovation incubator embedded within the Boehringer Ingelheim Ridgefield campus.