Boehringer Ingelheim increases commitments to sustainable development, investing in health innovation and collaborations to expand access and improve healthcare for 50 million people in vulnerable communities by 2030

Ingelheim,
  • Boehringer Ingelheim marks the World Health Summit 2021 by announcing updates to its strategic approach to sustainable development
  • The company commits to investing EUR 250 million in collaborations to combat infectious diseases in humans and animals, and increases investment in health innovation and research to tackle non-communicable diseases worldwide 
  • In addition, Boehringer Ingelheim commits to expanding healthcare access for non-communicable diseases for 50 million people in vulnerable communities

Ingelheim, 25 October 2021 – Today, on the occasion of the World Health Summit 2021, Boehringer Ingelheim shares an update on its strategic approach to sustainable development. A commitment to initiatives that contribute to ‘More Health’, one of the three pillars within the company’s ‘Sustainable Development - For Generations’ framework. 

Continuing a journey that began more than 135 years ago, Boehringer Ingelheim is building on its track record in addressing unmet health needs, increasing the company’s ambitions to tackle global health challenges. The strategic approach also focuses on the strength and value of collaboration and long-term partnerships to contribute towards achieving a healthier and more sustainable future for society.

Specifically, Boehringer Ingelheim renews its commitment to areas in which it has the expertise and capability to create value for patients and communities:
  • Expanding NCD healthcare access for 50 million people in vulnerable communities
  • Investing EUR 250 million in partnerships and collaborations to combat infectious diseases in human and animal health 
  • Increased investment in health innovation to EUR 35 billion to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 2030 
  • Supporting initiatives to alleviate significant challenges such as tackling rabies and African Animal Sleeping Sickness, as well as advancing parasitology, aiming at continuously integrating efficacy and environmental aspects 
Hubertus von Baumbach, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors at Boehringer Ingelheim says: “For generations, our commitment has been to improve the health of humans and animals alike. We innovate in areas where medical need is the highest. Our intention is to transform lives, and we firmly believe that Boehringer Ingelheim is uniquely positioned to make a substantial contribution towards a healthier and more sustainable future.” 
 
The MORE HEALTH pillar of the ‘Sustainable Development – For Generations’ framework follows Boehringer Ingelheim’s ambition to develop better therapies, enable better healthcare solutions and contribute to a better world for future generations. It further evolves Boehringer Ingelheim’s commitments and significantly increases the company’s contribution to positively impacting health, societal and environmental issues, in alignment with the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
 
Carinne Brouillon, Head of Human Pharma and Member of the Board of Managing Directors at Boehringer Ingelheim says: “MORE HEALTH is our unique approach of addressing the health needs of both humans and animals and their shared environment. It shows the diversity of our work and underlines our ambition in Human Pharma to transform patients' lives by delivering innovative healthcare solutions, better and faster. For this we are collaborating with diverse partners worldwide.”
 
Boehringer Ingelheim is updating and advancing a number of projects and initiatives within the MORE HEALTH pillar, reflecting the diversity of its patients and expertise of its partners. These projects have already achieved significant milestones over the years, for example:
  • Patient assistance and product donation initiatives have reached over 150,000 patients worldwide, across 77 countries on all continents
  • The Angels Initiative, committed to expanding the network of stroke centers and stroke-ready hospitals, has enrolled over 5,400 hospitals that have served 8.6 million patients to date with substantially improved care
  • The Kuza Afya program in Kenya, a diabetes and hypertension care program, has screened approximately 79,000 people for these diseases, trained over 500 healthcare professionals and offered a path to treatment for over 5,000 previously unserved patients
  • In 2019, an initiative was launched in partnership with PharmAccess, a non-profit organization that works to improve access to quality healthcare in Africa, to leverage mobile technology in Kenya to address awareness and access barriers in hypertension and diabetes
  • The ‘Pathway’ health project fund in Canada will impact the lives of over 20,000 people, addressing the excessive prevalence of certain NCDs in indigenous communities
  • The Last Mile initiative, stretching across six countries in sub-Saharan Africa, has reached over 7,000 smallholder farmers, training them in leveraging access to healthcare solutions, vaccines and treatments to optimize the health and productivity of their livestock
  • In 2020 a new pilot program was launched in Pakistan in collaboration with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) to eliminate rabies by donating Boehringer Ingelheim’s vaccine, Rabisin®, and collars which help to identify vaccinated dogs
With new initiatives continuously being created and existing ones evolving and expanding, Boehringer Ingelheim expects MORE HEALTH to continue to gain momentum as the company moves towards its 2030 commitments.
 
MORE HEALTH is one of three pillars within Boehringer Ingelheim’s ‘Sustainable Development – For Generations’ framework. It is accompanied by MORE POTENTIAL, aimed at co-creating healthy, inclusive and sustainable communities, and MORE GREEN, geared towards the protection of natural resources and the reduction of the company’s carbon footprint. 
 
About Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim is working on breakthrough therapies that improve the lives of humans and animals. As a leading research-driven biopharmaceutical company, the company creates value through innovation in areas of high unmet medical need. Founded in 1885 and family-owned ever since, Boehringer Ingelheim takes a long-term perspective. Around 52,000 employees serve more than 130 markets in the three business areas, Human Pharma, Animal Health, and Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing. Learn more at www.boehringer-ingelheim.com
 
About ‘Sustainable Development – For Generations’
Boehringer Ingelheim operates to serve the needs of human and animal health. This makes the company’s position unique in addressing intersecting sustainable development challenges. The ‘Sustainable Development – For Generations’ framework has three pillars: ‘More Health’, ‘More Green’ and ‘More Potential’. Through these pillars, Boehringer Ingelheim implements 20 initiatives around the globe to drive the company’s contributions and impact. These are in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. To succeed in reaching these goals, the company has renewed its committed approach to working in partnership, calling for the multi-stakeholder collaboration needed to tackle complex global challenges. 
 
Media Contacts:
 
Matthias Reinig
Corporate Communications
Head of Group Communications
P: +49 6132 77-173951 
press@boehringer-ingelheim.com
 
Edda Dankmeyer 
Corporate Communications
Head of Sustainable Development Communications
P: +49 6132 77-173947

Media Contacts