人類處方藥物｜動物保健｜同時增進人類與動物健康研究 The benefits of shared research in human and animal health
人類與動物的健康和福祉存在密切的關係，這種關係正是百靈佳殷格翰One Health的核心理念。
Eric Haaksma博士在阿姆斯特丹學習化學，並於1991年加入百靈佳殷格翰擔任實驗室經理。他於1997年轉入人類處方藥物的研發部門擔任管理職。2019年1月，他轉至動物健康部門。資深副總裁兼全球創新（研發）的全球負責人，他負責動物保健部門的新解決方案和創新開發的工作。
Clive Wood博士擁有倫敦帝國學院的生物化學博士學位。自1980年代以來，他便投身製藥研究和開發工作，專注為炎症和癌症開發抗體治療的藥物。他在2014年加入百靈佳殷格翰。作為資深副總裁兼全球探索研究的負責人，他負責人類藥物處方的新物質發現。
我們邀請人類處方藥物部門的Clive Wood博士和動物健康部門的Eric Haaksma博士坐下來聊聊，討論了他們團隊共同合作的優勢，也談到了為什麼越來越多寵物和主人之間的疾病有所交集。
「One Health」的核心理念是什麼？
Clive Wood：全球社會的健康是一個複雜的系統，其中有許多相互關聯的因素。例如，穩定獲得食物和水對人們是最重要的，而這與我們的農業方法有關；我們用於家畜健康的藥物則可能對人類社會產生影響，像是對抗生素過度依賴，將造成抗生素耐藥性增加的風險。
Eric Haaksma：寵物在這個複雜系統中也扮演了重要的角色，我們與寵物的關係已經與以往不同，在過去，人們習慣將狗留在戶外，如今寵物已成為家裡的一份子，牠們和主人同屋而眠，甚至與主人一同度假。在「One Health」中，健康和幸福之間有著緊密的關係，有很多證據顯示，與動物相處的時間對人們著正面積極的影響，而與寵物相處則可以減輕壓力、提升心情，甚至改善心理健康。因此，將寵物健康納入思考是非常重要的，這不僅有助於人類的幸福，也能提升整個社會的健康水平。
很少有公司能像百靈佳殷格翰這樣同時擁有人類處方藥物部門和動物保健部門，並能夠彼此協作，這樣的組合產生了什麼協同效應呢？
Clive Wood：我們所有研發工作都致力做出新的發現。互相幫助將使我們更容易實現這個目標，人類藥物處方部門將分享其知識和專業，造福於人類、動物和公司，如果我們忽視了這些協同效應，我們將錯失一個巨大的創新機會。
為了實現這些協同效應，需要什麼樣的結構？
Eric Haaksma：我認為動物保健在公司中扮演著相當重要的角色。幾年前，我們還只是一個小部門，專注特定領域，如：豬隻疫苗。當時，我們與人類處方藥物部門的互動很少，只有偶爾會有人帶來一些他們發現的訊息，詢問我們是否對此感興趣。
然後，在2016年，百靈佳殷格翰併入了法國的梅里亞（Merial）公司，該公司專注在動物保健。這大幅增加了公司的動物保健部門規模，賦予它新的責任感和期許。我們的新角色是為伴侶動物和經濟動物所可能遭受的各種疾病找到解決方案。我們並不孤單，我們知道我們與人類處方藥物部門的同事們並肩工作。
Eric Haaksma博士（左）和Clive Wood博士相信人類、動物和地球的健康是相互關聯的，當動物健康時，人類也會健康
你能告訴我們你認為兩個部門之間存在最大交集的領域是哪些嗎？
Clive Wood：癌症研究是其中一個主要領域。當腫瘤出現時，我們發現人類和狗的基因變化相似，這意味著人類藥品在對抗癌症開發的任何新療法也可能對狗有益。
Eric Haaksma：動物保健部門確實受益於公司進行的所有化學和分子研究。我們現在已經能夠以同樣的方式為其他部門做出貢獻。
人類和動物的自體免疫性疾病有很多相同的基本機制。疾病本身可能看起來非常不同，但其發生的原因相似。這就是為什麼在我們開發對抗這些自體免疫性疾病的解決方案時，我們會分享我們對分子或化學物質的新發現。另一個有趣的領域是焦慮和壓力，這兩者都會影響人類和動物。知識分享使我們能夠以有趣的角度來處理這個領域。
你提到人類處方藥物和動物健康之間的關係非常複雜。在眾多可能的途徑中，你們是如何選擇的？
Eric Haaksma：我們研發部門與行銷部合作，制定了一份疾病地圖，用以了解未來10到15年內將發揮重要作用的疾病和治療方法。這種方法與百靈佳殷格翰公司這個家族企業文化中長期目標的價值觀一致。
以經濟動物養殖中的抗生素使用為例：十年前，這是可接受的做法。而今天，它受到廣泛討論，可以肯定的是，十年後這將不再被視為可接受的做法，並會改變市場的走向，使我們必須找到在不使用抗生素的情況下保持經濟動物健康的解決方案。
在寵物領域也出現了一些長期趨勢。越來越多的貓被飼養在室內，狗的運動量也不如以前多。它們食用的食物量和類型也在變化，而醫學的進步意味著寵物的壽命更長。
人類藥物處方和動物保健之間存在重要的交集領域
 |  |  |
癌症研究 人類和狗在基因上面臨類似的變化，人類藥物處方開發的新療法，可能也對狗有益。 | 自體免疫性疾病 人類和動物在許多機制上共享相似性。這些疾病可能在外觀上有所不同，但發生的原因是相似的。 | 焦慮和壓力 這些問題不僅影響人類，也影響動物，並對身體健康產生影響。知識分享使百靈佳殷格翰能夠提供有趣的方法來應對這一領域。 |
活動量減少的生活方式、改善的預期壽命——這些是我們在人類社會中觀察到的趨勢。
Eric Haaksma：正是！我曾在人類醫藥領域工作過，這些相似處是顯而易見的。我們看到越來越多過重的貓狗，糖尿病等疾病也越來越普遍，高齡寵物也更容易患上癌症。
在未來，你們希望進一步發揮哪些協同效應？
Clive Wood：儘管在研究和開發方面我們已經有了很大的進展，但我認為我們應該更加專注於評估特定治療在人類和動物中的效果。我們可以採取一種系統化的方法，通過臨床研究來獲取一些優秀的選擇，例如在進行人體試驗之前先在狗身上研究癌症治療方法。
Eric Haaksma：這是一個典型的雙贏局面。人類處方用藥將受益用以狗隻評估治療療效的數據，而寵物則能提前獲得創新治療方法的好處。
你認為兩個部門之間的協同作用有可能會讓人類處方藥物部門和動物保健部門在某個時候合併嗎？
Eric Haaksma：這個想法已經被討論過了，但我們認為這兩個領域間仍存在一些關鍵的差異。我們的真正目標是盡可能地讓各方互相合作，做出最好的成果，滿足人類病患的需求，同時也照顧好動物、農民和寵物主人的需求。
Clive Wood：就某種程度而言，我們已經攜手合作了──在百靈佳殷格翰中扮演著推動創新的角色。
HUMAN PHARMA ANIMAL HEALTH
The benefits of shared research in human and animal health
There’s a close connection between humans and animals when it comes to their health and wellbeing. This connection lies at the heart of Boehringer Ingelheim’s One Health approach.
Dr. Eric Haaksma studied chemistry in Amsterdam and joined Boehringer Ingelheim as a laboratory manager in 1991. He moved into a management role in Human Pharma’s research and development department in 1997. In January 2019, he moved to the Animal Health division. As Senior Vice President & Global Head of Global Innovation (Research and Development), he is responsible for the development of new solutions and innovations in the Animal Health division.
Dr. Clive Wood holds a PhD in Biochemistry from Imperial College London. He has been involved in pharmaceutical research and development since the 1980s, with a focus on developing antibody treatments for inflammation and cancer. He joined Boehringer Ingelheim in 2014. As Senior Vice President & Global Head of Discovery Research, he is responsible for the discovery of new substances in the Human Pharma division.
We sat down with Dr. Clive Wood from Human Pharma and Dr. Eric Haaksma from Animal Health to discuss the advantages of their teams working together — and why we’re seeing increasing crossover between the conditions affecting pets and their owners.
What’s at the heart of the One Health approach?
Clive Wood: The health of our global society is a complex system, with a lot of interconnected factors. Having reliable access to food and water, for example, is extremely important for people, and this is rooted in our approach to agriculture. The medicine that we use to keep our livestock healthy can have repercussions for human society. An over-reliance on antibiotics, for example, can increase the risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria emerging.
Eric Haaksma: Pets also play a significant role in this complex system. The way in which we relate to our pets has changed. In earlier times, people used to leave their dogs outside. Now they’re part of the family; they share a bed with their owners and go with them on holiday. Another part of the One Health approach is the connection between health and happiness. There is a lot of evidence that spending time with animals has a positive impact on people.
There aren’t many companies with both Human Pharma and Animal Health divisions that can work together as at Boehringer Ingelheim. What kind of synergies have you seen come out of this setup?
Clive Wood: All our research and development efforts are aimed at making new discoveries. Helping each other makes it easier to achieve that goal. The Human Pharma division is committed to sharing its knowledge and expertise for the benefit of people, animals and the company. If we ignored these synergies, we would be missing out on a huge opportunity to innovate.
What kind of structure needs to be in place for these synergies to arise?
Eric Haaksma: I think it’s important that Animal Health now has a fairly large role within the company. A few years ago, we were a small division that focused on very specific areas like swine vaccines. Back then, our interaction with Human Pharma was limited to someone occasionally coming over with information about something they had discovered and asking us if it was something we had any interest in.
Then, in 2016, Boehringer Ingelheim acquired Merial, a French company that specialized in animal health. This massively increased the size of the company’s Animal Health division and gave it a new sense of responsibility and ambition. Our new role is to find solutions to a wide range of conditions that companion animals as well as livestock can suffer from. We’re not alone in this endeavor — we know that we are working shoulder to shoulder with our colleagues in Human Pharma.
Dr. Eric Haaksma (left) and Dr. Clive Wood are convinced that the health of humans, animals and the planet is intertwined and that when animals are healthy, humans are healthy too.
Can you tell us about some of the areas where you see the biggest crossover between the two divisions?
Clive Wood: Cancer research is one of the main areas. We see similar genetic changes at work in humans and dogs when tumors emerge. That means that any new treatments that Human Pharma develops in the fight against cancer could also benefit dogs.
Eric Haaksma: The Animal Health division really benefits from being able to draw on all of the chemical and molecular research going on at the company. We are now at the stage where we can contribute to other divisions in the same way.
Immune disorders in people and animals share a lot of the same underlying mechanisms. The illnesses themselves might look very different, but they occur for similar reasons. That’s why we share any new discoveries we make about molecules or chemicals as we develop solutions to combat these disorders. Another interesting field is anxiety and stress, which affect both people and animals. Knowledge transfer allows us to come up with interesting angles to approach this area.
You mentioned that the links between Human Pharma and Animal Health are complex. With all the different avenues available to you, how do you choose which ones to pursue?
Eric Haaksma: Our Research and Development departments worked with Marketing to put together a Disease Map, which gives us an idea of the diseases and treatments that are going to play a significant role over the next 10 to 15 years. That approach is consistent with Boehringer Ingelheim’s culture of focusing on long-term objectives in line with the values of a family company.
Take the use of antibiotics in livestock farming, for example: Ten years ago, it was an acceptable practice. Today, it’s heavily debated, and it’s safe to assume that it won’t be considered acceptable ten years from now. This will change the market and put us in a position where we need to find solutions that will keep livestock healthy without resorting to antibiotics.
There are also some long-term trends emerging when it comes to pets. More and more cats are being kept inside, and dogs aren’t getting as much exercise as they used to. The amount of food they eat and what they eat is changing as well, and advances in medicine mean that pets are living longer.
Areas with big crossover between
Human Pharma and Animal Health
 |  |  |
Cancer Research Similar genetic changes are at work in humans and dogs. New treatments that Human Pharma develops could also benefit dogs. | Immune disorders Many of the same underlying mechanisms are shared in people and animals. The illnesses might look different, but they occur for similar reasons. | Anxiety and stress These problems affect both people and animals, and have an impact on physical health. Knowledge transfer allows Boehringer Ingelheim to come up with interesting angles to approach this area. |
A more sedentary lifestyle, improved life expectancy — trends that we have seen emerge in human society.
Eric Haaksma: Exactly! I used to work in Human Pharma, and the parallels are obvious. We are seeing more and more overweight cats and dogs, diseases like diabetes are becoming more prevalent, and elderly pets are much more at risk of cancer.
Are there any synergies you would like to exploit more in the future?
Clive Wood: Even though we have already made great strides in terms of research and development, I think we should focus even more on evaluating the efficacy of specific treatments in humans and animals. A systematic approach based on clinical studies would open up some outstanding options, like being able to study cancer treatments in dogs before proceeding to human trials.
Eric Haaksma: It’s a classic win-win situation. Human Pharma benefits from the data about the efficacy of treatments in dogs, while pets gain early access to innovative treatments.
Do you think the synergy between the two divisions could result in Human Pharma and Animal Health merging at some point?
Eric Haaksma: It’s an idea that has been discussed, but we felt that there are still some crucial differences between the two fields. What we really want to do is to maximize synergies so that we do the best possible job at meeting the needs of human patients on the one side and animals, farmers and pet owners on the other.
Clive Wood: In a certain sense, we have already joined forces — as a driver of innovation at Boehringer Ingelheim.