I periodically receive opportunities to speak at healthcare company site events. Late last year, global pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim invited me to its facility in the San Francisco Bay Area to share my psoriasis story with its team of professionals in an interview format.
That visit also checked off an item on my patient-advocacy bucket list.
I’d always wanted to see the process of how biologic medications, such as the ones I’ve injected to treat my psoriasis for more than 20 years, are produced. I was thrilled when my contact at Boehringer Ingelheim offered me the chance to tour its biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility.
My excitement grew as the day approached to drive about a hundred miles to the East Bay from my home near Sacramento. The visit turned out to be far more educational and inspiring than I had imagined.
Manufacturing and Shipping Biologic Medications
If you’ve received a biologic for psoriasis or another health condition, you know it comes packaged in a syringe or auto-injector pen. At Boehringer Ingelheim I learned the details of the journey a biologic medication takes from early manufacturing to doses a patient can inject to treat various diseases.
A site coordinator met my interviewer and me before the facility tour. She carefully explained the process by which a small vial of biologic antibody is processed into the target amount over the course of about a month.
The different areas of the facility reminded me of the lab scene from the original Jurassic Park movie: large rooms with high ceilings walled off with thick glass from floor to ceiling containing specialized stainless-steel containers and drums.
A maze of tubing and plumbing supports each step of the manufacturing process. Even the flow of air is engineered to avoid any pollutants traveling from one room to another. Lab technicians wore protective white suits and coverings over their heads. They inserted their hands into gloves to manipulate equipment to avoid introducing any contamination.
A floor scientist explained how the cell strains that make up the biologic medication were developed to duplicate in the right conditions. Once the desired volume of medication is produced, it goes through a filtering and purification process. Quality checks and sterilization ensure the purity of the medication.
The site also fills syringes or auto-injectors with the prescribed dose of medication along with the other elements added to make the injectable solution. Finally, the medication is placed in boxes with other required items, such as leaflets and alcohol wipes, for distribution.
Sharing My Psoriasis Story
Once a year the Boehringer facility in the San Francisco Bay Area invites a patient to share their story to the employees on site. The time for me to be interviewed came quickly, so we had to cut the tour short to be continued afterward.
Living with psoriasis has been a challenging and, at times, torturous experience for me. I wanted to give those who help produce the medications that help patients like me a glimpse into how I treat and feel about my condition.
I became emotional as I sat on an elevated chair in front of the assembled employees. I shared how my initial psoriasis diagnosis was confirmed not that far away, at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. I received my first ultraviolet light treatment as a child just up the road in Oakland. Memories of my parents taking me to clinics and doctor appointments flooded my mind.
It then dawned on me how the scientists, technicians, and support staff at that gathering represent those invested in helping me treat my condition over the years. These facilities run around the clock to provide medications for people like me.
Psoriasis Touches Countless Lives
I’m still thinking about the questions the employees asked me after the interview. They remind me that psoriasis touches countless lives.
One employee shared how they also lived with psoriasis and could identify with the struggles I had faced with social anxiety. Because psoriasis affected them on a visible part of their body, they resonated with my desire to want to hide my skin when I was younger.
Another employee asked about how to help a friend who lives with psoriasis. Their friend is not as assertive in asking questions about their condition or seeking how to better manage it. As I shared how I came to advocate for my own health, I felt sympathy for those who don’t feel empowered to do so for themselves.
A third question centered on psoriasis stigma, wondering if there is less now than before. While psoriasis education and awareness have increased, myths still abound. Psoriasis is not contagious. And, no, it’s not just a rash. We’ve learned that the inflammation of psoriasis impacts health in many ways.
At the end of the question-and-answer session I thanked the employees for being part of countless patients’ support networks. My visit to a biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility satisfied my curiosity about how a biologic medication gets to my door.
More importantly, however, it opened my eyes to recognize all those tirelessly working behind the scenes to ensure I receive the medication I need to best manage my psoriasis.
