FAQ
Who is eligible to apply?
Researchers from universities, other academic research institutes and start-up companies from all over the world.
What types of grants are offered?
We intend to offer the following different types of grants depending on the specifics of the target and its development phase.
Successful projects supported by the grant may lead to further collaborations. Special conditions may apply for proprietary targets/the inlicensing of targets. Grant types do not need to be selected by the grant applicant. The decision on grant allocation is made at the sole and absolute discretion of Bayer HealthCare.
What do we offer in addition to financial grants?
In addition to the financial grants we may support your further work on the target of interest (if selected) by providing expertise, tools and/or investigations. This may include:
Yes. Grants are offered for research work in the following fields:
Will the information provided be considered confidential?
No, the information provided will not be considered confidential. Information provided has to be sufficient to allow a first evaluation of the proposal. If you have further data that you are only willing to disclose subject to the execution of a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA), please indicate this in the abstract. In case your application is considered for further evaluation, we may contact you to discuss a CDA.
Who will review the proposals?
The proposals will be reviewed by experienced scientists from Bayer HealthCare.
What should the proposal cover?
The proposal should include a detailed description of the target proposed and further research plans (as requested in the submission platform). The information provided must be sufficient to allow an initial evaluation of the proposal. Please note that only non-confidential information should be provided. Our aim is to combine your scientific expertise with our drug-development know-how to generate drugs for novel targets in an efficient and straightforward approach.
How to register?
Download pdf
How to submit?
Download pdf
Deadlines for the application?
The annual deadlines for submission are March 31 and September 30.
What is regarded as a target?
We define a “druggable” target as a nucleic acid or a protein (e.g. an enzyme, a receptor, …) whose activity can be modified by an external drug. The drug can be a small-molecular-weight chemical compound or a biological, such as an antibody or a recombinant protein. The target should have been shown to be effective/mechanistically involved in the disease by relevant in vitro or in vivo models.
The current call for proposals is limited to the mentioned indications, treatment paradigms and approaches (small-molecular-weight compounds, antibodies, recombinant proteins). In this call we will not fund proposals with approaches outside the mentioned areas, e.g. in gene or cell therapy, vaccination or unspecific approaches without defined molecular targets.
What is regarded as a disease-related biomarker?
A disease-related biomarker might be a protein, a nucleic acid or a metabolite that can be measured in biological fluids, tissue or isolated cells for the diagnosis, monitoring, prognosis or stratification of patients. Information generated by such biomarkers may enable intervention at an earlier and potentially more curable stage of the disease than under usual clinical diagnostic conditions or may allow the monitoring of a therapeutic action on disease progression as opposed/or in addition to the classical signs and symptoms. Through the incorporation of appropriately validated biomarkers, one can expect better clinical study designs, in more precisely defined patient populations.
Can I submit a proposal on behalf of a group?
Yes, you can submit a proposal on behalf of your group. However, please indicate your collaborators/coworkers in the respective field.
Do I have to apply for a specific grant?
No, it is not necessary to specify the grant type. However, it would help us in our grant allocation if you could indicate your research plans on the proposed target.
Do the publications attached have to originate from myself/my research group?
No, please attach the most relevant publications describing the target and its functional relevance for disease.
Researchers from universities, other academic research institutes and start-up companies from all over the world.
What types of grants are offered?
We intend to offer the following different types of grants depending on the specifics of the target and its development phase.
- Support Grants (€5,000-€10,000) to further advance research on targets that are at a very early stage of discovery; fixed grant approval letter; IP remain with the applicant.
- Focus Grants (€10,000-€125,000) for more mature ideas, e.g. to address specific aspects of a target as a first step toward transferring it to the drug-discovery process; fixed grant approval letter; IP remain with the applicant.
Successful projects supported by the grant may lead to further collaborations. Special conditions may apply for proprietary targets/the inlicensing of targets. Grant types do not need to be selected by the grant applicant. The decision on grant allocation is made at the sole and absolute discretion of Bayer HealthCare.
What do we offer in addition to financial grants?
In addition to the financial grants we may support your further work on the target of interest (if selected) by providing expertise, tools and/or investigations. This may include:
- Antibodies
Bayer HealthCare’s Antibody Discovery unit may be able to support for your target validation work. Often, for the most innovative target proposals no suitable validation tools are available. To fill this gap, Bayer HealthCare routinely employs its state of the art antibody lead discovery platform to generate antibodies for target validation. Recombinant antibody engineering technologies are used. The turn-around time averages six months from project initiation until antibody delivery. Please indicate within your grant application which in vitro/in vivo models you intend to apply for target validation and which requirements potential tool antibodies should fulfill. - Small Molecule Tool Compounds
Bayer HealthCare’s Compound Collection may provide valuable support for your target validation work. We might have chemical probes to support your validation efforts. Please indicate within your grant application which in vitro/in vivo models you intend to apply for target validation and which requirements potential tool compounds should fulfill.
- Biobank samples
Samples from Bayer HealthCare’s Research Biobank may help to validate your target/biomarker. Bayer HealthCare’s Research Biobank contains tissue and blood samples from all indications in which grants are offered including oncology (mainly solid tumors), cardiology, and gynecology. We are aware of the socioethical aspects of this topic and deploy best practice with a particular focus on the informed consent of the donors. Please indicate in your grant application which specimen(s) might be helpful for the validation of your target and how, including relevant analytical techniques. - Technologies
The technology platforms and methods, that are routinely used by Bayer HealthCare, may support your target/biomarker validation. If selected, we may offer you access to gene expression profiling or other up-to-date research technologies. Please detail your research interests with regard to the use of technology platforms in the submission platform.
Yes. Grants are offered for research work in the following fields:
- Oncology - Focus on anti-proliferative, survival signaling, transcription and chromatin modulation, cell cycle regulation, tumor metabolism, hypoxia, immunotherapy and antibody-drug conjugates.
- Gynecology - Focus on novel treatment options for endometriosis (incl. adenomyosis uteri/endometriosis interna) and uterine fibroids (uterine leiomyoma).
- Cardiology - Focus on novel approaches to the care of chronic and/or acute pulmonary hypertension, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, ischemic stroke, peripheral arterial occlusive disease, acute lung injury/adult respiratory distress syndrome, cardiorenal syndrome and chronic kidney diseases.
- Hematology – Focus on hemophilia, anemia and thrombocytopenia.
Will the information provided be considered confidential?
No, the information provided will not be considered confidential. Information provided has to be sufficient to allow a first evaluation of the proposal. If you have further data that you are only willing to disclose subject to the execution of a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA), please indicate this in the abstract. In case your application is considered for further evaluation, we may contact you to discuss a CDA.
Who will review the proposals?
The proposals will be reviewed by experienced scientists from Bayer HealthCare.
What should the proposal cover?
The proposal should include a detailed description of the target proposed and further research plans (as requested in the submission platform). The information provided must be sufficient to allow an initial evaluation of the proposal. Please note that only non-confidential information should be provided. Our aim is to combine your scientific expertise with our drug-development know-how to generate drugs for novel targets in an efficient and straightforward approach.
How to register?
Download pdf
How to submit?
Download pdf
Deadlines for the application?
The annual deadlines for submission are March 31 and September 30.
What is regarded as a target?
We define a “druggable” target as a nucleic acid or a protein (e.g. an enzyme, a receptor, …) whose activity can be modified by an external drug. The drug can be a small-molecular-weight chemical compound or a biological, such as an antibody or a recombinant protein. The target should have been shown to be effective/mechanistically involved in the disease by relevant in vitro or in vivo models.
The current call for proposals is limited to the mentioned indications, treatment paradigms and approaches (small-molecular-weight compounds, antibodies, recombinant proteins). In this call we will not fund proposals with approaches outside the mentioned areas, e.g. in gene or cell therapy, vaccination or unspecific approaches without defined molecular targets.
What is regarded as a disease-related biomarker?
A disease-related biomarker might be a protein, a nucleic acid or a metabolite that can be measured in biological fluids, tissue or isolated cells for the diagnosis, monitoring, prognosis or stratification of patients. Information generated by such biomarkers may enable intervention at an earlier and potentially more curable stage of the disease than under usual clinical diagnostic conditions or may allow the monitoring of a therapeutic action on disease progression as opposed/or in addition to the classical signs and symptoms. Through the incorporation of appropriately validated biomarkers, one can expect better clinical study designs, in more precisely defined patient populations.
Can I submit a proposal on behalf of a group?
Yes, you can submit a proposal on behalf of your group. However, please indicate your collaborators/coworkers in the respective field.
Do I have to apply for a specific grant?
No, it is not necessary to specify the grant type. However, it would help us in our grant allocation if you could indicate your research plans on the proposed target.
Do the publications attached have to originate from myself/my research group?
No, please attach the most relevant publications describing the target and its functional relevance for disease.