Producer
Boehringer Ingelheim
Private German pharmaceutical company. Originator of Spiriva (tiotropium HandiHaler and Respimat), Combivent, and Striverdi. The Respimat Soft Inhaler — a proprietary aqueous mist device — is assembled exclusively at Boehringer microParts GmbH in Dortmund. Doubled Respimat production to 44 million units/year via ~€100M Dortmund expansion.
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Inputs supplied
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Goods downstream
2
Facilities
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Stories
What they make
1 input Boehringer Ingelheim supplies
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Goods downstream
Essential goods that depend on something Boehringer Ingelheim makes — pick one to see the full supply chain.
Where they make it
2 facilities
Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health St. Joseph Missouri →
USMissouri · manufacturing
Major Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health US biologicals production site; manufactures PRRS MLV and other swine vaccines including Ingelvac PRRS and CircoFlex.
Boehringer microParts GmbH Dortmund Respimat Assembly Plant →
DENorth Rhine-Westphalia · Manufacturing
Sole manufacturing site for the Respimat Soft Mist Inhaler device. ~€100M expansion doubled capacity to 44 million Respimat units/year. Respimat then shipped to Ingelheim for drug filling.
What else they do
Business segments
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Respiratory Inhalers (Spiriva, Respimat)
30%Cardiometabolic (Jardiance, Trajenta)
35%Animal Health (Merial Heritage)
20%Biopharmaceuticals CDMO (Contract)
15%
Intelligence
What's known
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Did you know2023
Boehringer Ingelheim serves respiratory health in two completely separate supply chains: (1) Human respiratory disease — Spiriva (tiotropium) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the long-acting bronchodilator that millions of patients inhale daily to keep their airways open; delivered via the proprietary Respimat soft mist device or HandiHaler DPI; (2) Pig respiratory disease — Boehringer's animal health division (from the 2017 Merial acquisition) is the world's #1 or #2 swine vaccine manufacturer; PRRSV (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus) vaccine from Boehringer is a critical input for US, European, and Asian pig farming because PRRSV is the most economically destructive swine respiratory disease globally; ~35% global swine vaccine market share. The same respiratory medicine expertise — understanding airway biology, immunology, and lung pharmacology — that produces Spiriva for human COPD patients also informs Boehringer's dominant position in swine respiratory vaccine development. A single German pharmaceutical family company controls critical inputs for human chronic respiratory disease management AND industrial pork production respiratory disease prevention.
Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH ↗Chokepoint2015
Boehringer Ingelheim's Respimat Soft Mist Inhaler — used for Spiriva, Combivent, and Striverdi COPD blockbusters — is assembled exclusively at one facility (Boehringer microParts GmbH in Dortmund, Germany). The Respimat uses a spring-actuated aqueous mist mechanism with no propellant, making it irreplaceable by any pMDI or DPI in the event of a facility disruption. Boehringer doubled capacity to 44 million units/year but there is no qualified secondary site.
Outsourced Pharma ↗Origin2023
Boehringer Ingelheim was founded in 1885 in Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany by Albert Boehringer — and has remained family-owned continuously for 140 years. With approximately EUR 24 billion in annual revenue (2023), it is the world's largest private (non-publicly traded) pharmaceutical company — a company that could easily be publicly listed at a valuation exceeding EUR 100 billion but has chosen to remain under family ownership through five generations. Albert Boehringer's founding insight was manufacturing tartrate salts for food and pharmaceutical applications from fermentation chemistry. The company's Rhine Valley location in Rhineland-Palatinate — historically Germany's pharmaceutical belt — provided labor and chemical supply infrastructure. Boehringer's private ownership has enabled decades-long R&D bets: tiotropium (Spiriva) was in development for 20 years before approval. A family decision to remain private specifically to enable long-horizon R&D investment produced one of the most successful COPD drugs in history.
Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH ↗