Research Institute of Molecular Pathology
The Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) is a Vienna-based basic biomedical research institute, founded 1985 and largely sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, operating 13 labs and ~200 scientists across molecular biology, structural biology, and disease mechanism research for the global scientific community.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1985
- HeadquartersVienna, Austria
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Research Institute of Molecular Pathology does
The Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), founded in 1985 in Vienna, Austria, is a basic biomedical research institute operating as Boehringer Ingelheim's primary academic-style research arm. It conducts curiosity-driven research across 13 laboratories and approximately 200-220 scientists drawn from over 40 countries, covering molecular and cell biology, genetics, structural biology, and mechanisms of disease including chromosome biology, mRNA processing, innate immunity, protein quality control, cancer biology, embryogenesis, and metastasis. Core technology platforms include cryo-electron microscopy (led by David Haselbach), advanced light microscopy including DNA-PAINT and MINFLUX (Francisco Balzarotti), genome editing (CRISPR/Cas9), mass spectrometry proteomics, and high-throughput genomics — with shared infrastructure including a joint Proteomics Technology Hub used with IMBA and GMI.
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology
- Legal name
- Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pathologie GmbH (IMP)
- Website
- https://imp.ac.at
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1985
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- The Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) is a Vienna-based basic biomedical research institute, founded 1985 and largely sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, operating 13 labs and ~200 scientists across molecular biology, structural biology, and disease mechanism research for the global scientific community.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Biomedical Research
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Single-Cell & Spatial Omics Discovery Platforms (target ID/validation, functional profiling) (HLAAAIAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Single-Cell & Spatial Omics Services (HLAGANAC), Bioinformatics & Multi-omics Analysis Software (HLAGAJAD), Proteomics & Biomarker Analytical Testing (HLAGADAG), Multi-Omics Precision Medicine Platforms (genomics/proteomics/metabolomics) (HLAAANAF)
Keywords
Where Research Institute of Molecular Pathology is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vienna
- HQ country
- Austria
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Corporate Sponsorship (Boehringer Ingelheim): IMP is largely sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim as their basic research institute. This represents the primary ongoing funding for the institute's core operations, laboratories, and general research activities.
- Research Grants: IMP scientists receive competitive research grants from various funding bodies including the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator Grants), Austrian Science Fund (FWF), Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF), Countdown (mitochondrial research nonprofit), Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowships, and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) is a basic biomedical research institute conducting curiosity-driven research in molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, and structural biology. It operates 13 research groups investigating fundamental mechanisms underlying complex biological phenomena, including mitosis, chromosome biology, mRNA processing, innate immunity, protein quality control, cancer biology, and embryogenesis. IMP does not sell commercial products; instead it delivers scientific discoveries, trained researchers, and shared access to advanced technology platforms such as cryo-electron microscopy, proteomics, and advanced light microscopy.
Product overview
The Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) is a basic life science research institute largely sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim. It does not offer commercial products or services in the traditional sense. The IMP conducts curiosity-driven molecular biology research through 13 research groups investigating fundamental mechanisms in cell biology, genetics, and disease. Research activities include studies in mitosis and chromosome biology, mRNA processing, innate immunology, protein quality control, cancer biology, developmental biology, and structural biology. The institute provides research services and facilities but is not a product or technology company.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- 60% ERC grant application success rate (vs 13% average in life sciences)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Research Institute of Molecular Pathology
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- IMBA (Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences)coreJoint study published in Nature revealed how UAP56 orchestrates mRNA export. Led by Clemens Plaschka (IMP) and Julius Brennecke (IMBA), the research combined cryo-EM with AI-based protein modeling to understand the molecular mechanism of genetic information transport.
- Vienna BioCentercoreIMP is an integral part of the Vienna BioCenter ecosystem, a leading life science hub in Europe. The BioCenter comprises 7 research institutions, 2 universities, and 42 biotech companies with 2,800 staff from over 80 countries. IMP shares campus facilities with IMBA and GMI and participates in collaborative projects across the campus.
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA)coreIMBA shares the Vienna BioCenter campus with IMP and has multiple collaborative research projects. Notable collaborations include the Plaschka-Brennecke partnership on mRNA export (published in Nature 2025) and shared technology platforms including the Proteomics Technology Hub.
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI)coreGMI is another Vienna BioCenter institute that shares facilities with IMP. The three institutes (IMP, IMBA, GMI) share the Proteomics Technology Hub and collaborate on various research initiatives.
- Max Perutz LabsminorMultiple Vienna BioCenter institutions including IMP, IMBA, and Max Perutz Labs share campus and collaborate on research. QED Science analysis noted these leading contributors sharing a single campus.
- University of North Carolina at Chapel HillcoreInternational collaboration on targeted protein degradation research. Scientists from IMP and UNC captured the mechanism of how degrader molecules recruit ubiquitin ligases to destroy cancer-driving proteins, published in Nature Communications.
- University of TorontocoreCollaboration between Alexander Stark's lab at IMP and Mikko Taipale's lab at University of Toronto to systematically discover pathogen protein functions using the eORFeome platform. Research published in Cell revealed hundreds of previously unknown protein functions.
- University of California, BerkeleycoreCollaborative study between Moritz Gaidt's lab at IMP and Russell Vance's lab at UC Berkeley uncovered a new immune sensing mechanism in human cells. Published in Science, the research showed how human immune cells detect viral sabotage of cellular defenses.
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)coreGEMINI project consortium bringing together IMP researchers (Andrea Pauli, David Haselbach, Sven Klumpe), IMBA (Julius Brennecke), and ISTA (Anđela Šarić) to study how germ cells safeguard and transmit genetic information using cryo-electron tomography and computational approaches.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB): Cambridge-based basic research institute in molecular biology with comparable structure - multiple research groups, world-class structural biology (cryo-EM pioneer), high-impact publications, and Nobel-laureate track record. Operates as a publicly-funded MRC institute with similar curiosity-driven mission.
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI): Basel-based biomedical research institute affiliated with the Novartis Research Foundation, operating an essentially identical model to IMP: pharma-sponsored basic research institute with research groups in epigenetics, neurobiology, and quantitative biology. Directly comparable size (~200-300 researchers) and funding structure.
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research: MIT-affiliated basic biomedical research institute with comparable size (~20 research groups, ~300 researchers), elite faculty publishing in Nature/Science/Cell, and focus on cancer biology, genetics, and developmental biology. Functions with similar mission to IMP despite different sponsorship model.
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG): Dresden-based Max Planck institute focused on molecular cell biology and genetics with comparable size (~300 scientists), shared technology platforms, and similar research areas including cell division, protein quality control, and developmental biology. Directly comparable European peer.
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA): Located on the same Vienna BioCenter campus as IMP, IMBA is the Austrian Academy of Sciences institute for molecular biotechnology. Shares technology platforms including the Proteomics Hub, conducts closely related research in stem cells, organoids, and RNA biology, and frequently co-publishes with IMP (e.g., Plaschka-Brennecke Nature 2025).
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL): Intergovernmental basic research organization in molecular life sciences with comparable structure across multiple sites (Heidelberg, Hinxton, Hamburg, etc.). Comparable research breadth in structural biology, cell biology, and genetics with similar technology platform focus and ERC grant success.
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory: Long-standing (1890) basic research institute in cancer biology, neuroscience, and genetics with comparable size (~300 scientists), PhD training program, and high-impact publication record. Similar focus on fundamental mechanisms underlying disease.
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies: California-based basic biomedical research institute with similar size (~30 research groups, ~400 scientists), focus on cancer, neuroscience, immunology, and structural biology, and high-impact publication track record. Comparable mission and operational structure.
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: Larger-scale basic research institute with comparable genomics, structural biology, and disease mechanism focus. While significantly larger and more applied than IMP, it represents the same tier of elite basic biomedical research with similar funding model (multiple sources including industry) and technology platform emphasis.
- Rockefeller University: New York-based basic biomedical research university with comparable size (~200 labs), high Nobel laureate count, and similar focus on fundamental mechanisms in molecular biology, genetics, immunology, and structural biology. Operates a graduate training program and publication model similar to IMP.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology social profiles
Digital presenceResearch Institute of Molecular Pathology financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Research Institute of Molecular Pathology M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about Research Institute of Molecular Pathology
What does Research Institute of Molecular Pathology do?
The Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) is a basic biomedical research institute conducting curiosity-driven research in molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, and structural biology. It operates 13 research groups investigating fundamental mechanisms underlying complex biological phenomena, including mitosis, chromosome biology, mRNA processing, innate immunity, protein quality control, cancer biology, and embryogenesis. IMP does not sell commercial products; instead it delivers scientific discoveries, trained researchers, and shared access to advanced technology platforms such as cryo-electron microscopy, proteomics, and advanced light microscopy.
Is Research Institute of Molecular Pathology a public or private company?
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Research Institute of Molecular Pathology founded?
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology was founded in 1985. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Research Institute of Molecular Pathology based?
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, in the Europe region.
How does Research Institute of Molecular Pathology make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Corporate Sponsorship (Boehringer Ingelheim) is the primary driver. The others are research Grants.
Who are Research Institute of Molecular Pathology's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI), Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA), European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Rockefeller University.
Does Research Institute of Molecular Pathology have an API?
No public API is recorded for Research Institute of Molecular Pathology.
What industry is Research Institute of Molecular Pathology in?
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology's product category is Biomedical Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAAIAF, Single-Cell & Spatial Omics Discovery Platforms (target ID/validation, functional profiling), with a secondary code of HLAGANAC, Single-Cell & Spatial Omics Services. Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 8731.