[Augusto/Adobe Stock]
When Keri Yale, the company’s head of patient affairs and engagement at Boehringer Ingelheim (BI), joined more than 25 years ago, she recognized a need to put patients at the center of the pharmaceutical industry. Since then, she has spearheaded a transformation towards greater patient centricity at the company that started with HIV/AIDS community engagement and expanded across the organization.Earlier experiences with HIV/AIDS activists in the 1990s taught Yale highlighted the importance of ethically sharing patient stories and building trust. At that time, HIV/AIDS activists pushed the FDA to hold patient-focused drug development meetings, demonstrating the power of organized patient voices in engaging regulators. Overall, the experience helped underscore the importance of patient engagement in drug development, helping inspire her to embed those learnings in BI’s culture. Read more