2024: The Year Ahead for Partnering in Animal Health

2023 was an exciting year for us in Boehringer Ingelheim with some key innovation and partnering highlights. And, as Head of Business Development and Licensing for Animal Health, I’ve been reflecting on these and am looking forward to seeing what 2024 has in store.

The year was characterized by four key themes which will be equally important as we move ahead into this new year:

• Tackling the big scientific challenges

• Driving innovation through collaboration

• The importance of synergies between human and animal health science

• Our commitment to long-term relationships

Tackling the big scientific challenges

I’m proud to be part of a global animal health scientific community that’s focused on addressing many key areas of unmet need. A highlight for me in 2023 was establishing a collaboration with The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Government Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and GALVmed to find a new medical solution to African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT). Diversity of thought is critical if we are to be successful in tackling these important areas of unmet need, and this collaboration is a great example of that.

Academic and early-science partnerships are rich sources of innovation and are essential for addressing the big challenges in animal health. These partnerships are a key priority for us as we look for solutions to challenges we anticipate facing ten years from now. That’s why we’re working with many universities and research organizations and continue to look for new early-science partners.  Our strategic collaboration with the University of Georgia is a great example of this. The roots of our relationship stretch back nearly 40 years, and our combined efforts are creating a bridge between students, educators and researchers, and animals and their owners. It is a relationship that we look forward to progressing for many years to come and addressing many more scientific challenges together.

Driving innovation through collaboration 

As someone who has worked in the life-science business for many years, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing the wealth of innovation that takes place outside as well as inside our organization. I strongly believe this marriage of skills, purpose, ambition and science is essential to unleash the collective power of the scientific community to accelerate the next wave of therapeutics and preventive solutions. With 8 of our 10 top-selling products anchored in external partnerships and more than 250 ongoing collaborations, I look forward to continuing on this trajectory in 2024 and welcoming more partners to our innovation network.

For 2024, we are continuing our focus on partnerships across the value chain from early-research, through to distribution agreements, recognizing the need to work together to deliver near-term solutions to tackle today’s unmet needs, as well as longer-term projects that address future challenges. Our partnering priorities reflect this and include cardiometabolic diseases, immunology and inflammation, oncology, oral health, and infectious diseases. You can find more information on our specific areas of interest on our website.

Human and animal health science synergies 

Boehringer Ingelheim is one of only a few companies that has research organizations in human and animal health, and that gives us an opportunity to leverage synergies between the two.  We have a long track record of delivering innovative therapies in animal health, and in 2023 we delivered another breakthrough as a result of working together with our human pharma colleagues who have deep expertise in cardiometabolic diseases.

Their work has resulted in several innovations for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. We’ve been able to share knowledge about disease mechanisms, chemistry, compounds, and techniques, resulting in the development and launch of SENVELGO® (velagliflozin oral solution), the first liquid once-daily, orally administered prescription medication to improve glycemic control in cats with diabetes mellitus. This makes treating feline diabetes simple and convenient for both cats and cat owners. We’re also sharing knowledge in other key areas such as cancer, immune disorders, anxiety, and stress, anticipating the potential to deliver advances in these important areas of unmet need.

Our understanding of these synergies also means we’re interested in collaborating with human pharma companies who may not have thought about the potential for their assets in the animal health space. During 2023 we saw an increasing awareness and interest in animal health from these companies and look forward in the coming year to more conversations about the opportunity to advance human pharma projects in animal health. Please reach out to our team to find out more.

Commitment to long-term relationships 

I know that science, particularly innovative science, takes a long time. As a family-owned company, we have the privilege to think and act longer-term which means we don’t shy away from taking on the big scientific challenges. It also means we’re in it for the long haul with our partners.

At the end of last year, our partner Bioveta, with whom we have been working for more than ten years, shared their experience of our collaboration. “Our true collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim means that we have transformed from being a product provider to a trusted partner. We are a joint team that shares opinions and makes decisions and plans together”.  You can read the full article here.

For us, partnering is more than a transaction, it’s a relationship. Our approach is to work in a spirit of genuine collaboration, working side-by-side with our partners to create a culture for shared success. 

Ultimately, we believe that if we want to continue our trajectory of innovation, partners will be at the center, alongside our own teams of talented scientists. 2024 holds great promise. We are excited about our advancing pipeline and the new opportunities this holds for our customers, and we are excited about the new opportunities from partners we will hear about this year that could make a difference to animal owners and animal themselves. We will be attending all the major partnering events this year in Europe, the USA and Asia, so come along and meet us. We look forward to seeing you!