20/05/2022 08:17:53 With the objective of being able to optimally address the needs of patients, Boehringer Ingelheim has held the global event “One Medicine Summit” in Barcelona. The meeting, which has brought together 300 medicine leaders from the company around the world for 4 days, seeks to delve into Boehringer Ingelheim’s roadmap to address the challenges presented by the pipeline for the coming years.
During the sessions, the medical teams have been able to hear directly from the voice of the patients what their needs are and the challenges they face every day, in the areas of obesity, sarcoma and mental health. For this, Vicky Mooney, Executive Director of the European Coalition for People living with Obesity, participated; Roger Wilson, founder of Sarcoma UK; Markus Wartenberg Member of the Board of Directors of Sarkom-Stiftung of Germany, an organization for sarcoma patients; and Victòria Monell, director of the Fundació Malalts Mentals Catalunya, who has highlighted the impact that these pathologies have on the lives of patients: “Can anyone imagine what it is like to get up one day and see and hear things that others neither see nor they listen? And that is only the beginning. Mental health affects the day to day, the personal and professional environment, and becomes a stigma for the patient.” – And she has remarked – “It is a stigma that always accompanies you. How would you feel if your son brings home her new girlfriend and she tells you that she has schizophrenia? Or if before a selection process you have two equally qualified candidates and one suffers from a mental illness? Who would you choose?
The initiative, which includes immersive exhibitions and collaborative workshops, among other activities, has focused on creating a space for dialogue where medical experts from around the world have exchanged ideas, projects and experiences to promote the development of therapeutic solutions designed by and for patients, encouraging their commitment to the clinical development of the company from the beginning. “With a view to the next launches, we want to understand the needs of patients, put ourselves in their shoes and see examples in which we are already immersed that can help us see how to collaborate with the group from the outset”, he explained. Bronwyn Lewis, Global Head of Patient Engagement. “We must be brave, not only for patients to be in the room, but to sit them at our table, listen to them and understand them. Only then can we speed up the process and provide products that really make a difference to their quality of life.” In addition, closely linked to this objective, the company seeks to close the gap between the clinical development process and patients, involving them from the beginning, especially in the main areas of the pipeline such as immunology, oncology, cardio-renal diseases- metabolic, and mental health oriented to schizophrenia, among others.
“Innovation is the cornerstone of the company, with a strategic medicine department that serves the entire organization for and to find solutions to unmet medical needs, with new processes and professionals prepared and ready to add value to the business”, has affirmed Guillem Bruch, Medical & R+D Director of Boehringer Ingelheim Spain.
The event, which took place from May 17 to 20, was held in person at the Hotel Puerta Fira in Barcelona. In this the experts have met with a common goal: to build together a healthier future, providing speed and added value to society. In this way, as Lennart Jungersten, Global Head of Medicine, has concluded, “we will be able to move from theory to action and all together we will be able to impact and transform millions of lives of present and future generations”.
