BioMed X has launched two new global calls for application together with Merck KGaA in Darmstadt in the fields of RNA splicing in cancer and engineering of high-performance production cell lines. Scientists from top universities and research institutions are invited to submit innovative project proposals and apply for a research fellowship at the BioMed X Innovation Center in Heidelberg, Germany.

BioMed X was founded in 2013 in collaboration with Merck KGaA and its innovation model has attracted the top five big pharma companies worldwide. BioMed X is currently hosting nine independent research groups from more than 20 different countries. At the Innovation Center in Heidelberg they are working jointly on biomedical innovations in the fields of oncology, neuroscience, respiratory, diagnostics, consumer care, and bioinformatics. Four of these nine research groups have been started in collaboration with Merck.

With one of the new calls, Merck aims to identify novel approaches to exploit tumor-specific RNA splicing alterations for targeted cancer therapy.

A critical factor for the availability and cost-efficient manufacturing of modern targeted therapeutics is the productivity of the respective production cell lines. With the second new call, Merck aims to identify better ways to manufacture monoclonal antibodies and complex glycosylated proteins in general.

“We are very pleased to extend our successful collaboration with Merck,” said Christian Tidona, founder and Managing Director of BioMed X. “The two new topics will strengthen our expertise in cancer research and add new capabilities in the field of industrial cell engineering.”