Boehringer Ingelheim India and NIPER Hajipur Sign MoU to Advance Pharmaceutical Research and Knowledge-Led Collaboration

Mumbai (Maharashtra) / Hajipur (Bihar) [India], April 24: Boehringer Ingelheim India Private Limited and the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hajipur, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance pharmaceutical research, education, and innovation. The five-year collaboration will create new pathways for researchers and students in Bihar and the wider region to engage with global-standard open science platforms, joint research initiatives and capability-building programmes, thus strengthening the talent pipeline for India's next phase of pharmaceutical innovation.

The MoU was signed at the Department of Pharmaceuticals in the presence of Shri Mano Joshi (IAS), Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers. Also present at the MoU signing ceremony was Dr. Kinny Singh (IAS), Deputy Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals and Prof. K. Ruckmani, Director, NIPER Hajipur. The MoU establishes a framework to strengthen academic and research collaboration in areas such as pharmaceutical technologies, novel drug delivery systems, joint research initiatives, academic exchange, and capability-building programmes.

As part of the MoU, Boehringer Ingelheim will enable NIPER Hajipur researchers and faculty to access opnMe (www.opnme.com), its global open science portal. Through opnMe, scientists can access well-characterised pre-clinical tool compounds free of charge for their research. Boehringer Ingelheim has already shared more than 150 molecules with Indian institutions through opnMe, and the collaboration with NIPER Hajipur extends this access to eastern India for the first time at this scale.

The partnership is aligned with the Government of India's vision for Viksit Bharat and the Biopharma SHAKTI (Strategy for Healthcare Advancement through Knowledge, Technology and Innovation) initiative, a INR 10,000-crore national mission announced in the Union Budget 2026-27. Biopharma SHAKTI specifically envisions an expanded role for NIPERs as centres of excellence in translational research and pharmaceutical talent development and encourages industry-academia collaboration to accelerate India's transition from volume-driven generics leadership to innovation-led biopharmaceutical excellence.

By strengthening the bridge between academic research and industry expertise, this partnership aims to contribute to the development of future-ready scientific talent and research pathways that can support more effective, accessible, and contribute, over time, to therapies that address the health needs of Indian patients and communities.

Speaking at the signing, Shri Manoj Joshi highlighted the pivotal role of academia-industry collaboration in bridging the gap between research and commercialisation, fostering innovation, and improving access to affordable, high-quality healthcare. He noted that India's pharmaceutical sector is steadily transitioning from a volume-driven model to a value-driven, innovation-led ecosystem, supported by targeted policy interventions, infrastructure development, and stronger industry-academia linkages, in alignment with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

Prof. K. Ruckmani, Director, NIPER Hajipur, said, "NIPER Hajipur sits at the heart of one of India's most populous regions, and our mandate is to build pharmaceutical research and talent capability that serves Bihar, eastern India and the country at large. Our partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim India and particularly the access it brings to the opnMe open science platform, gives our researchers and students direct exposure to globally validated pre-clinical tools and world-class R&D collaboration. This is a meaningful step in realising the Government of India's vision of building self-reliant, geographically distributed pharmaceutical innovation capability across the country."

Meenal Gauri, Managing Director, Boehringer Ingelheim India, said, "NIPERs have been identified by the government as centres of excellence for Biopharma SHAKTI, and our view is simple: the greater the number of talented Indian researchers engaged in this mission, the stronger the outcomes for the country. That is why, after our partnership with NIPER Raebareli, we are proud to extend opnMe access to the researchers at NIPER Hajipur, giving them the same well-characterised molecules, free of charge, that scientists across the world use for discovery. We see this as the deepening of a long-term commitment to India's pharmaceutical education network, and our contribution to the Viksit Bharat and Biopharma SHAKTI vision."

The collaboration is structured on a non-profit, non-commercial basis, reflecting both Boehringer Ingelheim and NIPER's commitment to ethical research, pharmaceutical education and the public good.

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