German independent research institute BioMed X announces today the start of its new research project ‘Advanced Biomarker Detection for Pharmacological Monitoring in the Brain’ (BDB) in collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim. The objective of the research group ‘BDB’ is to develop a continuous monitoring biosensor for direct detection of small molecule biomarkers in rodent brain tissue to support the development of innovative treatment approaches in precision psychiatry, an area of focus of Boehringer Ingelheim’s R&D.

“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”, says Group Leader of team BDB, Dr. Khulan Sergelen, who recently joined the BioMed X Institute for the start of team BDB. Sergelen previously worked as Assistant Professor in the research group Molecular Biosensing for Medical Diagnostics (MBx) within the department of Biomedical Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology. “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.

The BioMed X Institute has been working closely with Boehringer Ingelheim since 2014. ‘Advanced Biomarker Detection for Pharmacological Monitoring in the Brain’ marks the fifth joint research project of the partners. Two projects in lung research and neuroscience have already been successfully completed and transferred to Boehringer Ingelheim for further development. Team BDB will now join two other ongoing BioMed X projects in collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim in immunology (Pathogen-Mediated Modulation of Innate Immunity) and neuroscience (Early Intervention in Psychiatric Diseases).

Christian Tidona, Founder and Managing Director 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.”