Just as the hammer was coming down on U.S. biomedical research, an independent biomedical research institute, BioMed X, launched a program to link potential pharma sponsors with researchers impacted by current NIH funding gaps, hiring freezes, and grant termination.
BioMed X, based in Heidelberg, is launching its XBridge Program, a “fast-track initiative” designed to support U.S.-based biomedical researchers. The program offers a pathway for affected principal investigators in all fields of human disease research to connect with pharmaceutical sponsors.
Recently, many U.S.-based researchers have seen their NIH funding threatened or suspended due to political gridlock and budget constraints. These disruptions risk not only halting progress in critical fields like cancer research, neuroscience, and infectious disease research—but also displacing talented scientists and dissolving very successful research groups.
“The purpose of our new XBridge Program is to open a new door for researchers facing the abrupt loss of NIH support,” said Christian Tidona, founder and managing director of BioMed X.
She added, “This is not a substitute for government funding—but it is a way to help scientists stay active and visible in the global research ecosystem, while we match them with new funding partners who may be willing to support their work. It is our responsibility as fellow scientists to help bridge the current gap in research funding in the United States and to enable vital scientific work to continue.”
The XBridge Program does not offer a funding guarantee. It has a matchmaking process, as it describes:
- Researchers can submit their existing NIH grant proposals through BioMed X’s global crowdsourcing platform Career Space (https://career.bio.mx/call/2025-XBRIDGE-C01).
- All research projects focusing on exploration of human disease biology, identification of novel therapeutic targets, or development of new therapeutic concepts in any human disease area are in scope.
- Applications are reviewed by BioMed X’s network of pharma partners, who may choose to sponsor individual research projects. Selected applicants will be invited to a pitch day, where they can present their research proposals directly to a panel of potential research sponsors from the pharmaceutical industry.
BioMed X Institute was founded as a partnership with the Government of Barbados focused on advancing the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases in individuals of African descent. The group has an initiative, supported by the European Commission’s PharmaNext program, which involves a two-year pilot project focusing on molecular characterization of patients in Barbados.
