Bayer Support of Investigator Initiated Research

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Welcome to the Bayer Pharmaceuticals website for Investigator Initiated Research (IIR). Bayer is committed to the improvement of healthcare by the support of independent research proposals, which further increase knowledge and understanding of different disease areas and treatment options.

Bayer will have no role in the planning or conduct of the study. Bayer will support suitably qualified Investigators / Institutions in pursuing their own research interests, which are of scientific merit and promote legitimate research goals.

Due to certain country specific regulations, in certain countries investigators are asked to submit proposals via their local affiliates.

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This site can not be used to report adverse events or product related quality complaints

IIR Definition

Investigator / Institution Initiated Research (IIR): Investigator Initiated Research encompasses any research activity both initiated and conducted by a party outside of Bayer Pharmaceuticals. The requirements applicable to this external party are those applicable to an Investigator and a Sponsor as required by applicable law and regulations. The research may include clinical or non-clinical activities.

Investigator: The Investigator is an individual, a company, institution, or organization responsible for the initiation, management, and conduct of the research activity. If the research activity is conducted by a team of individuals, the Investigator is the responsible leader of the team and may be called the Principal Investigator. The Investigator(s) is / are external from Bayer Pharmaceuticals.

Sponsor: In the conduct of a clinical trial, a sponsor is an individual, institution, company or organization (for example, a contract research organization) that takes the responsibility to initiate, manage or finance the clinical trial but does not actually conduct the investigation.

GCP: Good Clinical Practice (GCP) is defined as a standard for the design, conduct, performance, monitoring, auditing, recording, analysis and reporting of clinical trials or studies.

General

Bayer Areas of Interest for IIR

The information on therapeutic area interests are outlined below. Please note that Bayer can only support IIRs which are in line with Bayer’s IIR strategy for each therapeutic area and which contribute to the generation of valuable data. 

The list below reflects the current areas of interest and is updated as additional areas are defined.

Cardiorenal: 

  • Real-world effectiveness and safety of finerenone in approved indications 
  • Real-world studies assessing the effectiveness and safety of concomitant finerenone with SGLT2i and/or GLP1-RA in approved indications
  • Differentiation from steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists through stakeholder-relevant endpoints, including adherence, persistence, and sMRA tolerance
  • Local implementation science in approved indications
  • Preclinical studies: animal model, in vitro

Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy:

  • Preclinical
    • Lab tests on TTR amyloid and toxic amyloid precursors
    • Genetic factors influencing disease progression
  • Clinical
    • Treatment and diagnosis patterns / algorithms
    • Disease progression / stabilization & prognostic tools
    • Patient preferences, PRO, QoL
    • Treatment patterns / switch

Ophthalmology:

  • Generation of real-world evidence (RWE) in authorized indications nAMD, DME, and RVO.
  • Analyzing functional and anatomical outcomes (incl. biomarkers) as well as treatment patterns 
  • Application of cutting-edge technologies to evaluate RWE-outcomes (e.g. AI)

Prostate Cancer / androgen receptor inhibitor:

  • Core Evidence Generation
    • darolutamide + ADT efficacy across nmCRPC and mHSPC
    • Combinations with novel agents (if efficacy/safety proven)
  • Disease-Specific Priorities
    • nmCRPC
      • Clinical impact of PSMA-PET upstaging
    • mHSPC
      • Patient identification (incl. AI-driven approaches)
      • Docetaxel contribution in biomarker-defined populations
      • Treatment intensification strategies
  • Early / Localized / BCR
    • Generate data in: 
      • Intermediate-risk localized & neo-adjuvant settings
      • BCR (incl. low-risk population, PSMA-PET outcomes)

Prostate Cancer / radiopharmaceutical:

  • Combination with other agents targeting novel pathways/molecules, unless mimicking existing studies
    • with PSMA targeted radionuclide loaded agents only of highly experienced top worldwide TL (Investigators)
  • mHSPC in combination (including layering) with darolutamide (ARi of choice upon consultation with Bayer)
    • Real world retrospective or prospective evidence generation to be considered
  • Patient selection with PSMA-PET (consider already ongoing IIRs to avoid duplication)
  • Clinical and biological markers for Rad-223 treatment optimization

Lung Cancer / HER2 mutant NSCLC

  • Further analysis to look at efficacy against specific HER2 TKD and non-TKD variants, HER2 overexpression and amplification focus studies.
  • Studies focusing on the treatment sequencing of HER2 therapies in NSCLC
  • Studies evaluating new GI prophylaxis strategies and approaches to mitigate sevabertinib GI toxicity
  • Real World Evidence studies 
    • Analyze real-world data to gauge efficacy and safety in diverse HER2 populations 
    • Explore patient-reported outcomes of HER2 patients in relation to quality of life during treatment

IIR Process Overview with Timelines

PROCESS STEP

INVESTIGATOR ACTIVITIES

BAYER ACTIVITIES

TYPICAL TIMELINE

Pre-check & Submission

  • Develop study idea
  • Potentially initiate proposal pre-check
  • Mont Blanc is Bayer's IIR electronic approval and tracking system
  • Register account access in Mont Blanc here
  • Submit complete proposal via Mont Blanc after registration is complete
  • Please refer to the Checklist for Submission section for more details
  • Potentially pre-check general feasibility of study prior to submission
  • Provide information upon request
  • Acknowledge received submission

Mainly dependent on sponsor’s/ Investigator’s timeline

Revew and Approval / Rejection

  • Confirm final proposal, provide missing information as required (followed by re-submission)
  • Evaluate proposal, typically on country and global level
  • Clarify questions and provide recommendations
  • Report on decision of internal review process (fully/partly agreed or denied)

1.5 – 2 months

Contracting

  • Involve legal sponsor of the study (institution) to negotiate contract (template will be provided by Bayer) and conclusion (including ethical and regulatory approval)
  • Negotiate contract with the study’s legal sponsor/ institution.

First draft of agreement after 15 calendar days; response expected in following 15 calendar days; total duration of contracting process depends on intensity and pace of negotiations

Study Realization

  • Conduct study
  • Provide status update
  • Adverse Event (AE) reporting as needed
  • Monitor study progress (e.g. milestone checks)
  • Maintain dialogue with sponsor/ Investigator and provide ongoing support as needed

Dependent on study

Study Conclusion (or early termination) and Publication

  • Complete study
  • Develop complete clinical study report and publish results
  • Follow up on publication status
  • Process study conclusion/ early termination

Dependent on study & resources; the final study report or publication manuscript should be submitted to Bayer within 1 year after study conclusion

Tools

Checklist for Submission to Mont Blanc:

In the Mont Blanc electronic approval and tracking system you will be asked to provide the following:

  • Create a study concept in Mont Blanc

  • Attach one of the below IIR assessment templates

    • Clinical
    • Pre-Clinical

  • Please attach the investigator's Curriculum Vitae

  • Please note: You will receive access to the IIR assessment templates after you have registered in Mont Blanc. If you have any further questions, please contact 
    support.montblanc@bayer.com.

Checklist for Contracting:

  • Complete study synopsis

  • Feasibility of study site for confirmed

  • Intellectual Property (IP) requirements

  • Adverse event reporting to be confirmed

  • Safety reporting requirements

  • Regulatory requirements

  • Milestones and payments to be agreed

  • Early termination agreements

  • Publication requirements

  • Signature from legal sponsor/institution supporting the study

Checklist for Study Conclusion

  • Final study report or a final draft for study publication

  • Publication (ideally in a peer review journal in a timely fashion)

  • Final payment within a year of study completion

Local Bayer medical affiliates will support the investigator with the IIR submission process as needed.
Please contact your local point of contact for any concerns and questions throughout the submission process.

Assessment Criteria List

Evaluation Criteria
Please be aware that acceptance is dependent on a number of factors. The most important ones are:

IIR Medical Value

  • Medical value of the study – addresses area of medical need unmet

  • Alignment with company therapeutic areas of interest

  • Value of Scientific output – generates peer reviewed publication

IIR Technical Quality

  • Sound study design

  • Investigator experience

  • Structural feasibility – adequate sample size, appropriate resource outlined in proposal.

  • Appropriate compliance with relevant regulations.

*Please note that the approval of studies is dependent on availability of budget

Requirements for Successful Collaboration

Prior to Study Start:

  • Plan timelines realistically

  • Diligently plan budget based on Fair Market Values and use the “request for financial support of IIR” template to request financial support

  • Clarify availability of internal resources

  • Ensure study site is appropriately resourced for study feasibility

  • Obtain necessary approvals as applicable

  • Ensure that submission is complete – take advantage of a pre-check

  • Contact legal sponsor/ institution early on

During Study Conduct:

  • Changes to the original proposal, including requests for financial support, cannot be changed during study conduct without re-submission and Bayer internal re-assessment of the changed details

  • Provide regular updates to Bayer and contact your local point of contact early on with any questions or concerns

  • Ensure full documentation

  • Send proof of services for initiation of payments

contact

Contact

In case you would like to get in contact with a Bayer representative for questions or clarifications, please submit your request via the support.montblanc@bayer.com.