When the Max Planck Society established the Lead Discovery Center (LDC) for the development of new medicinal compounds in 2008, only a few people believed it would be successful. Ten years later, researchers at the LDC are now working on around 20 projects involving searches for new substances that can be used for medicinal purposes. One of the compounds developed at the LDC is already being tested in clinical studies on humans, while another is soon to reach this phase. Along with academic organizations and public entities such as the Max Planck Society the Helmholtz Association and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, a number of pharmaceutical and biotech companies such as Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Gruenenthal and Merck are also involved with the development of medicinal compounds at the LDC in the capacity of licensees or cooperative partners.