S4.E2. 造浪者與他們的產地

從1885年以來，百靈佳殷格翰的造浪者們，致力於改善病患的健康和生活品質。無論是在我們的實驗室中有什麼新發現，或者在公司草創期、學院內部進行研討時產生的各種疑慮辯論等，都是為了科學的新突破而努力。

Randye Kaye的兒子Ben在青少年期被診斷患有思覺失調（paranoid schizophrenia），這件事一度讓Randye 的世界幾近崩塌。如今Ben已經成年，他的病情因為現代醫學得到了控制，讓這個來自美國康乃迪克州（State of Connecticut）的家庭，逐漸回到正軌。但Randye並未滿足於安逸的狀態，這位母親投入於各項宣傳運動之中，希望能推動更多腦部研究計畫，希望科學界研發出更多永久性醫療方案，徹底根治更多類似Ben所罹患的腦部疾病。而Randye之所以選擇百靈佳殷格翰，是因為它是少數重視腦部疾病研究領域的製藥公司。Randye說：「它是我希望的來源」。

類似Randye Kaye和Ben的案例激勵了百靈佳殷格翰的研究和開發人員，其中包含了維也納研究中心的負責人Darryl McConnell博士，他致力於破解KRAS蛋白（KRAS protein）的密碼—KRAS蛋白被視為對抗多種癌症的關鍵。McConnell博士和他任職於范德堡大學（Nashville’s Vanderbilt University）的夥伴—Stephen Fesik博士，是少數投入在破解KRAS罹癌原因這項艱鉅任務的重要人士。多年來，他們一直在尋求效果顯著、具備長期療效的綜合治療方法。這項計畫之所以能長期實施並進行基礎研究，是因為他們的研究項目沒有立即的商業目的。1980年代世界已經確認KARS蛋白是引發數項癌症的關鍵因子，即使從無藥可用（undruggable），但百靈佳殷格翰的造浪者們正在持續努力改變此現況。

我們也與其他的國際知名研究機構合作，或者以投資者的立場（例如：百靈佳殷格翰風險基金）投入新創公司的發展。英國新創公司Brainomix的執行長Michael Papadakis博士就是一名開創者。百靈佳殷格翰於2018年初投資Brainomix公司；如今已有許多歐洲國家診所以及中風復建中心正在使用e-ASPECTS軟體；該軟體能藉由自我學習演算法（self-learning algorithm）評估電腦斷層掃描數據，希望讓經驗不足的醫師也能迅速的判定病患的中風狀況與層級。

百靈佳殷格翰也投入於各項嶄新的研究領域。例如：我們與位於柏林的新創公司一起對抗近視。愈來愈多的兒童以及青少年，因為長時間盯著智慧型手機導致近視。Dopavision公司的創辦人Hamed Bahmani博士和Stefan Zundel博士研發了一種技術，藉由用戶實際上看不見的螢幕小光點，刺激特定視網膜區域，用以解決近視的問題。而百靈佳殷格翰正是這項計畫的主要投資者。

Inventive genius

For over 130 years, pioneers at Boehringer Ingelheim have worked on delivering improvements to patients’ health and quality of life. Whether they make their discoveries in Boehringer Ingelheim’s laboratories, their ideas speed up the production process, or they are puzzling over new research methods at startups and universities, these pioneers all have one thing in common: They break new scientific ground every single day.

A diagnosis meant that Randye Kaye’s world quite literally fell apart: Her teenage son Ben was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. This was shocking news. And yet, step by step, this family from the US state of Connecticut has come back to life. Ben is now an adult and, thanks to modern medicines, at least has his illness under control. But that is no reason for Randye Kaye to take things easy. On the contrary, she continues to campaign in support of brain research and hopes that science will develop methods of treatment which can provide a permanent cure for illnesses such as Ben’s. Randye Kaye is willfully supporting Boehringer Ingelheim because it is one of the few pharmaceutical companies that is stepping up its engagement in this area of research. “That gives me hope,” says Kaye.

It is people like Randye Kaye and her son Ben who inspire the researchers and developers at Boehringer Ingelheim. They include Dr. Darryl McConnell, Research Site Head at the company’s Vienna facility, who has resolved to crack the code behind the KRAS protein, which is considered the key to fighting many cancers. McConnell and his partner Dr. Stephen Fesik at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University are among the few people committed to the difficult task of tackling the root causes of KRAS-related cancers. For many years now, they have been pursuing a new integrated therapeutic approach with great stamina. This was only possible because their project was not required to be immediately commercially viable. They had time for basic research: The importance of the KRAS protein as a cancer driver was already discovered in the 1980s and had since been considered untreatable through medication (“undruggable”). Boehringer Ingelheim’s pioneers are currently changing that, however.

The company’s scientists have been collaborating with the university since 2018 on combating infectious diseases at a research center. Tsinghua University is a leader in this field, while Boehringer Ingelheim contributes its expertise in the areas of immuno-oncology and immune modulation. “This is a partnership with potential,” says Wood. “It may help us to discover entirely new approaches for the treatment of infectious diseases for which no treatment is currently available.”

Other Boehringer Ingelheim pioneers are working for the many well-known international research institutions with which the company closely collaborates. Others are at work in startups in which the company is an investor, such as through the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund. Dr. Michael Papadakis, CEO of the UK startup Brainomix, is one such pioneer. The Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund invested in his company in early 2018. Its so-called e-ASPECTS software is already in use in clinics and stroke centers in many European countries. A self-learning algorithm evaluates computer tomography scans. The goal is for less experienced physicians to be able to decide just as rapidly as specialists whether or not a patient has actually suffered a stroke.

Boehringer Ingelheim also invests in new areas of research. For instance, together with a Berlin-based startup, it has taken up the fight against myopia. In- creasing numbers of children and adolescents are ruining their eyesight through the many hours they spend in front of their smartphone screens, and thus becoming nearsighted. The founders of Dopavision, Dr. Hamed Bahmani and Stefan Zundel, have developed a technology that combats this by means of a small light spot, invisible to the user, on a screen that stimulates certain regions of the retina. Boehringer Ingelheim is a lead investor.