PDF (15.90 MB) - Boehringer Ingelheim Annual Report 2012

esearch & developmentperspectives for medical innovationTHE GLOBAL EPIDEMIOLOGY TEAMThe global epidemiology team at Boehringer Ingelheim isgrowing and actively working to attract and to retain talent.The team is highly motivated, engaged and innovative. Itworks interdisciplinarily and globally to help respond to challengingpublic health questions using real-world data.PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY –A RISING FIELDPharmacoepidemiology contributes substantially to drugdevelopment and to the advancement of public health byanswering clinically relevant questions that provide physiciansand patients with information to ensure healthier lives.The main tasks of pharmacoepidemiologyat Boehringer Ingelheim are to:• Inform the planning, design andconduct of clinical studies• Study the use, safety and effectivenessof drugs in large populations• Determine the benefit-risk profiles ofour drugsIntegration into drug developmentTo develop drugs and to address patients’needs, it is important to integrateepidemiological data early and consistentlyinto the drug development process.A newly established process willensure that epidemiological data areavailable when:• Decisions are made on unmet medicalneeds and target patient populationsin order to configure clinicaldevelopment programmes to best addresscurrent healthcare needs• Potential adverse effects are evaluatedand need to be put into perspectivein relation to the backgroundrisk in the target population• New treatments are to be monitoredfor their safety and effectivenessDEFINITIONPharmacoepidemiology is theapplication of epidemiologicalknowledge and methods to studythe effects, beneficial and adverse,of drug products in human populations.It evaluates who thepatients are and how the patientsrespond to treatments.Pharmacoepidemiology – a rising field45