The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 137 affiliates in 47 countries and more than 38,400 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.
In 1985 Boehringer Ingelheim, together with the biotech-company Genentech, founded the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna. Eight years later, Boehringer Ingelheim took over all shares of Genentech and became the sole sponsor of the IMP.
The long term goal was to create a center of excellence in the life sciences, with a focus on the study of the molecular basis of disease and to develop new scientific concepts with a view to spawning identification of potentially useful products in therapeutic and diagnostic areas for commercial development within the Boehringer Ingelheim Group. All results of the IMP are made public after they have been screened for patentability.
The Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is a basic research institute within the fields of molecular biology and biomedicine.
IMBA’s vision is to understand the fundamental molecular processes and their contribution to disease. In interdisciplinary research groups, IMBA pursues an integrative approach that combines functional screening, RNAi interference, stem cell and imaging technologies to examine the role of genes in physiology and pathogenesis. Targeted areas of application include major disease areas such as immunology, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.
The Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) and IMBA have agreed on a close research collaboration. Under the name "IMP-IMBA Research Center", the two institutes share most of the administrative and scientific infrastructure.
The Max F. Perutz Laboratories next door to the IMP were established in spring 2005 to form a new research institute in the field of biotechnology with groups from the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna. They represent a new and innovative approach to strengthen research and training at both Universities.
Today more than 400 people (scientists, technicians and support) in more than 50 research groups work on basic research in Molecular Biology (across seven thematic fields).
The Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (GMI), a neighbouring institute to the IMP, was founded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 2000 to promote research excellence within the field of plant molecular biology. It is the only international centre for basic plant research in Austria.
Research at the GMI is curiosity driven and currently focuses on the genetic and epigenetic plasticity of the plant genome in the contexts of gene regulation, chromosome biology and development. GMI scientists also study the nature and crosstalk of plant signal transduction pathways in response to intrinsic and environmental stimuli at both the genetic and epigenetic levels. Arabidopsis thaliana is used as the primary model organism.
With the Opening of the IMP in 1988 the first step in setting up a Biotech-campus close to the Viennese city center was taken. 1992 the new University-building adjacent to the IMP was officially opened and soon a teeming biotechnology hub was developing.
Today’s "Campus Vienna Biocenter" (VBC) is also home to the MFPL - Max F. Perutz Laboratories (Institutes of the University and Medical University of Vienna), the IMBA - Institute of Molecular Biotechnology and the GMI - Gregor Mendel Institute (both Institutes of the Austrian Academy of Sciences), a University of Applied Sciences, several biotech companies, a PR agency, a non-profit scientific society and the Vienna Open Lab. More than 1000 people from 40 different nations currently work at the Campus VBC.
Campus members enjoy a scientifically and socially stimulating environment and take advantage of shared facilities such as the Max Perutz Library at the IMP. A number of events, including seminars and lectures, are open to all.
