CLINICAL OPERATIONS & OUTSOURCING


Global warning: Pharma’s role in the climate crisis


With COP26 imminent, what lessons can the pharmaceutical sector learn about its environmental impact and its response to climate change?


D


espite the distrust with which the pharmaceutical industry tends to be viewed by the general public, it remains


an industry that revolves around an overriding social mission. Inventing life-saving products and improving human health is a job for the good guys after all, and the incredible speed at which novel vaccines and therapeutics have emerged in response to the Covid-19 pandemic is further proof, if it were needed, of the intrinsic value of a vibrant and competitive, research-based global pharma and biotech sector.


The coronavirus crisis is yet another potent reminder of the deep connections between pharma’s prime social concern of human health and the world’s changing climate. The Harvard School of Public Health’s Center


for Climate, Health and the Global Environment has described the separation of health and environmental policy as “a dangerous delusion”, and while there is no direct evidence that climate change has influenced the spread of Covid-19, the current pandemic is emblematic of how global warming and its root causes are making the world more vulnerable to emerging pathogens. “We, of course, acknowledge that the health


of patients is tied to the health of the planet,” says Kirsty Reid, director of science policy at the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). “[Climate change’s] influence on human


health can be indirect or indirect – through infectious disease patterns, increasing extreme weather patterns and the risk of drought, floods and subsequent food insecurity, as well as various respiratory diseases from poor air quality.


“Further understanding of the interface between people, health and the environment is critical. It’s also critical to ensure the pharmaceutical industry can form and execute our response.”


In 2021, on the eve of another all-important UN climate summit – COP26 in Glasgow – climate change and sustainability was well-established near the top of the pharma sector’s public agenda, from large players joining the drive to net-zero operations to more granular forums such as the Biopharma Sustainability Roundtable, which launched in  to bring together indstry figres for pre-competitive discussions on environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related topics. “The pharma industry, I mean, it’s a bunch of


do-gooders,” says Biopharma Sustainability Roundtable co-founder Sandor Schoichet, who is also director of life science-focused Meridian Management Consultants. “Everybody is in this business because they’re concerned about healthcare and science, and the social value of what the industry does. And [the roundtable] was just part of it.”


Taking stock of pharma’s environmental impact


While the pharma industry of today is replete with ambitious carbon-reduction targets and prominent shows of solidarity – GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is one of COP26’s principal partners – there is evidence that the sector has some way to go before it truly takes stock of its carbon footprint and wider environmental impact. “The pharma industry appears to have


conveniently hid behind its image of clean factories maing lifesaving drgs, says otfi Belkhir, associate professor of engineering and


Outsourcing In Clinical Trials | 11


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72