S3.E2. 數位化是一種工具，而不是最終結果 Digital is a tool, not an end in itself

數位保健是當前整個行業都在談論的流行術語，拋開這個流行的元素，新的數位科技實際提供了什麼具體的附加價值？

對於我們來說，數位化是使用數據技術的通稱，也就是包括從獲取資料、處理和分析以及流程的自動化，這此全部都可以稱為數位化。數位化不僅僅是對整個價值鏈做了改變，還為我們提供了許多從部分甚至根本以及創新過程中改進的機會。在過去的130年裡，創新是確保了我們的成功和獨立的條件，今天，我們仍然堅信創新能力對公司未來的重要性，我們仍會一再質疑和挑戰現有和過去的實證，我們提供一致的資源，並且承擔由此產生的創業風險。這使我們能夠將願景變為實際結果。我們希望透過創新創造更多價值。

這具體說明了什麼？

這意味著我們希望發展新的治療方法，為患者的生活帶來可衡量和實際的改善。其中，我們特別設定了一個開發人類藥物的目標，我們期許這些藥物會是新穎的，並且在醫藥類中首屈一指。同時，我們也希望為醫療保健系統創造附加價值，以這樣的理念為目標時，我們不應該將「價值」單單曲解為「價格」一詞或立即聯想到「成本」。否則，我們將會忽略系統的整體效率。最重要的是，我們會忽視患者的需求。

我們面臨的主要挑戰是如何使百靈佳殷格翰能夠快速而且有效的抓住這些機會。數位技術幾乎正在改變公司的每個領域和商業模式，在某些領域中，這些都是顛覆性的轉型，而在其他領域，它們更具有進化性的意味。

你能舉一個例子嗎？

以藥物的開發為例，我們過去在這方面一直很成功。最近，我們的糖尿病用藥Jardiance^®恩排糖獲得了著名的國際蓋倫獎最佳藥品獎。我們使用越來越多的數位技術來突破界限並縮短開發週期，例如，人工智慧幫助我們更快評估與研究的患者數據。我們把現在正在做的事情做的越來越好，其中這些變化本質上是正在漸漸進步的，另一方面，在生產和與醫生和患者合作的領域中，正在發生的變化是具有顛覆性的，數位平台這個新的商業模式正在產業中開闢全新的互動形式。

您看好哪些技術能夠提供最大的附加價值？

人工智慧無疑的是我們公司許多領域中特別有前景的技術之一，數據量增長非常快速。人工智慧將在未來幫助我們能於較短的時間內組織和分析這些數據。今天，即使擁有無限的人力資源，這也幾乎不可能實現，但是，儘管我們對技術創新充滿了熱情，沒有人能忽視數位化本身是一種工具而並不是結果，新技術正在幫助我們改造公司。適當的使用這些工具，對於我們現在和未來的成功有決定性的作用，這使我們能夠忠於我們的創業目標，並為人類和動物創造新的治療方法。

內部的測試和更新計劃，例如我們的數位實驗室BI X或我們在殷格翰的BI CUBE，都扮演了重要的腳色，我們正在開發新的數位流程和產品，並在那裡嘗試更靈活敏捷的工作方式，因此，我們的目標是為員工的日常工作和整個組織提供一種動力感。

因為變化正以如此快的速度發展，數位化轉型的過程是否也會帶來重大的挑戰？在許多領域中，很多企業都非常害怕來自其他行業、顛覆傳統的人。

數位化帶來了快速和全新的技術與方法，我們在生活中的各個方面都體驗到了這一點。作為一家公司，我們希望利用這些機會繼續成功與他人競爭，為未來不斷的變化做好準備始終是我們公司的指導原則，我們將改革視為未來的動力，並希望重新塑造數位醫療保健，並為此行業做出更多貢獻。例如，這可能意味著患有中樞神經系統疾病的患者，能藉由通過對特定語言模式的分析，更快地得到正確的診斷，接著也將為他們提供適當的藥物。
在流行病學中，數位技術使我們能夠近乎即時的評估我們產品的功效，其安全性和使用率，我們目前對患有罕見硬皮症肺部硬化患者的研究，將在不到六個月的時間內完成，比起需要五年或更長時間的傳統方法相比，此研究如果成功，該藥物將能早四年提供給患者。

我們並不害怕顛覆傳統，事實上，從積極的角度上來說，我們認為自己是行業的顛覆者。因此，我們對外來的創新合作夥伴保持絕對開放的態度，這些合作夥伴激勵著我們，幫助我們實現更好人類和動物的保健理念，我們正在與初創企業，研究人員和開發人員積極合作，並在我們的創新的過程中整合醫生和患者的意見，其數位平台也提供奇佳的新機會，所有這些都有助於我們更了解患者的需求，並為他們提供針對性的產品。

那麼百靈佳殷格翰已經為數位保健時代做好了準備？

完全準備好了。我們已經在塑造未來的道路上，並準備好面臨所有過程中的機遇和挑戰。數位保健的最終目標是將健康科學聯繫得更加緊密，在未來發展的道路上，事情可能會發展的比想像中得更快。

Digital health is the buzzword which currently has the whole industry talking. Setting aside this buzzword, what concrete added value do the new digital technologies actually deliver?

For us, digitalization is the generic term for new technologies for employing data – that’s to say, capturing, processing and analyzing – and the automated steering of processes. Digitalisation offers us diverse opportunities to improve, in part even fundamentally transform, not only the innovation process, but the complete value chain. Innovations have guaranteed our success and independence over the past 130 years. Today, we still firmly believe in the importance of the power to innovate to the company’s future. We must and will repeatedly question and challenge the existing and the proven. We make corresponding resources available and thereby bear the consequent, entrepreneurial risk. That enables us to turn our vision into reality. We want to create value through innovation.

What does that mean in concrete terms?

This means that we want to develop new therapeutic approaches that will bring measurable and tangible improvements to patients’ lives. We have in particular set our target to develop human pharmaceuticals that are novel and first in their medicinal class. At the same time, we want to create added value for healthcare systems. In doing so, we should not simply reduce the term “value” to “price” or immediate “costs”. Otherwise, we will lose sight of the overall efficiency of the systems. Most of all, we would then neglect the needs of patients.

The key challenge for us is to enable Boehringer Ingelheim to seize these

Opportunities rapidly and efficiently. Digital technologies are transforming processes and business models in almost every area of the company – in some areas these are disruptive transformations, while in others they are more evolutionary.

Can you provide an example?

Take the development of medicines, where we have been quite successful in the past. Recently, our diabetes medicine jardiance^®received the prestigious International Prix Galien as “Best Pharmaceutical Product”. We are increasingly using digital technologies to push our boundaries and shorten our development cycles. For example, artificial intelligence helps us to register and evaluate patient data in studies faster. We are simply getting better at what we are already doing today – but these are changes which are somewhat evolutionary in nature. On the other hand, in the areas of production and cooperation with physicians and patients, the changes under way are disruptive. Completely new business models are becoming possible here – and digital platforms are opening up entirely new forms of interaction.

Which of these technologies do you expect to provide the greatest added value?

Artificial intelligence is certainly one of the areas of technology which open up to us particularly promising new opportunities in many areas of our company. The volume of data is growing very fast. AI will in future allow us to reliably structure and analyse this data in a relatively short space of time. Today, this would hardly be possible even with unlimited human resources. But for all our enthusiasm for individual technological innovations, there is no overlooking the fact that digital is a tool rather than an end in itself. New technology is helping us to transform the company. Appropriate use of these tools will play an even more decisive role in our success, both now and in the future, in order for us to stay true to our entrepreneurial goal and to create new therapeutic options for people and animals.

Internal pilot projects and change programmes such as our digital laboratory BI X or our BI CUBE in Ingelheim are certainly also playing an important role. We are developing new, digital processes and products and experimenting with agile work methods there. We thus aim to provide a sense of momentum for our employees’ everyday work and for the organization as a whole.

Does the process of digital transformation also pose such a major challenge because change is unfolding at such a rapid pace? In many areas, there is a considerable fear of disruptors from other industries.

Digitalisation brings acceleration and completely new technological approaches. We experience this in all areas of our lives. As a company, we want to take advantage of these opportunities in order to continue to compete successfully. Being prepared for continual change has always been our guiding principle. We regard change as the motor of the future and would also like to make our contribution to reshape the new, digital healthcare sector. This can, for instance, mean that patients with diseases of the central nervous system will receive the right diagnosis more quickly, thanks to the analysis of specific speech patterns, and the appropriate medicine will then also be available for them. In epidemiology, digital technology enables us to assess the efficacy, safety and utilisation of our products in close to real time. One of our current studies in patients who suffer from the rare lung disease scleroderma will be concluded in less than six months – compared to five or more years using the traditional registry-based approach. If successful, the medicine will be available to patients more than four years earlier.

We are not afraid of disruptors – in fact, we see ourselves as a disruptor for our industry, in the positive sense. So we are absolutely open to external, innovative partners who inspire us and who help us to realise our ideas for better human and animal health. We are cooperating with start-ups, researchers and developers, and integrating physicians and patients in our process of innovation – digital platforms provide fantastic new opportunities. All of that helps us to achieve an even better understanding of our patients’ needs and to provide them with targeted offerings.

So Boehringer Ingelheim is ready for the age of digital health?

More than ready. We are already in the process of shaping that future, with all of the opportunities and challenges which it will entail. Ultimately, digital health is an attempt to link health sciences even closer to each other. On the way, things could also gladly move somewhat faster.