Brian Hilberdink on Boehringer’s U.S. Growth, AI & Pharma’s Next Frontier

What It Covers

Brian Hilberdink, president of Boehringer Ingelheim's U.S. business, outlines the company's commercial strategy across chronic kidney disease, obesity, interstitial lung disease, and oncology, while addressing how private ownership, portfolio diversification, and early AI adoption shape its growth trajectory through 2027.

Key Questions Answered

• •Private ownership as R&D advantage: Boehringer reinvests 27.5% of revenues into R&D — a figure Hilberdink describes as nearly unprecedented at its scale. Without quarterly analyst pressure, the company sustains long-term disease-shaping campaigns like "Detect the SOS" for chronic kidney disease, targeting 35 million Americans, most of whom are undiagnosed due to lack of UACR testing awareness.
• •Obesity market framing: Rather than competing against Novo Nordisk or Eli Lilly directly, Hilberdink frames the real obstacle as clinical inertia — only single-digit percentages of the estimated 100 million Americans with obesity currently receive evidence-based pharmacological treatment. Boehringer's obesity pipeline phase three data releases in 2026, with a launch anticipated in 2027.
• •Portfolio hedging across rarity tiers: Boehringer structures its portfolio across four commercial tiers — ultra-rare (HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer), medium-rare (interstitial lung disease via JASKADE), and primary care (Jardiance for type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease) — deliberately balancing high-value rare disease revenue against high-volume primary care to reduce pipeline and pricing risk.
• •AI deployment starting in commercial, moving to clinical: Boehringer's AI innovation unit currently generates returns in CRM and next-best-action omnichannel execution, providing real-time field feedback during new product launches. Hilberdink identifies clinical trial recruitment and accelerating drug development timelines as the next priority application areas where AI investment is being directed.
• •Competency-first indication selection: Boehringer evaluates new therapeutic areas by mapping adjacencies to existing expertise — respiratory competency led to interstitial lung disease breakthroughs after 36 failed phase three studies industry-wide, and metabolic disease expertise in type 2 diabetes naturally extends into obesity and liver health. Assets outside core competency, like the SKYRIZI molecule later licensed to AbbVie, are partnered rather than commercialized internally.