Compound Challenge
Forecasted
The Compound Challenge supports scientists designing synthetic routes to a specified small molecule, with leading routes tested in a laboratory to identify an effective way to make it.
Funder: Merck KGaA (EMD Group)
Due Dates (Anticipated): March 2027 (Registration) | March 2027 (Challenge route submission)
Funding Amounts: €10,000 total prize; first-place winner also receives a six-month SYNTHIA® subscription for their organization
Summary: Scientists compete to design a synthetic route to a specified small molecule, with leading routes tested in a laboratory.
Key Information: Health care professionals cannot participate.
Description
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has hosted the Compound Challenge since 2018 to identify the best synthetic route to a specified small molecule. Scientists at any career level can enter individually or as a team. During the challenge, participants receive the molecule’s structure, access to SYNTHIA® route-planning software, and 72 hours to develop and submit a route.
Submitted routes are anonymized and peer-reviewed. An internal jury selects leading routes for chemical synthesis by a contract research organization, and finalists can revisit a route if it reaches a point of failure. The final assessment considers successful synthesis steps, yield, purity, and the feasibility of steps not performed. Merck KGaA says it does not seek to commercialize submitted routes.
