Greener Pharmaceutical Medicine; how we’re championing environmentally-focussed practices
Posted on: Wednesday 29 March 2023
Author: Dr Marcia Philbin
“In 2020, FPM surveyed its members on the robustness of clinical trials during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. What this revealed is that sometimes it takes a crisis to force innovation.”
The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (FPM) launched its new Strategy 2023-2025 [1] in December 2022. One of our three strategic pillars for this period is ‘Sustainability’, which is primarily focused on building resilience into all the activities of the organisation. One of the priorities underpinning the pillar is to ensure that FPM’s work is environmentally responsible and efficient, and that we are supporting our members with guidance and resources. To this end, FPM recently became a member of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change (UKHACC), joining fellow members of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and other healthcare organisations to amplify the voice of our members who are passionate about delivering sustainable health [2].
Join us at our upcoming FPM Conversation
FPM will be exploring these ideas and innovations in more depth at our upcoming Conversation event: Why should pharmaceutical physicians care about environmental sustainability? on 3 May 2023.
So what does this mean in practice for FPM members?
An NHS England report in 2020 revealed that 4% of the carbon footprint in the nation was attributed to the NHS and of that, 30% was due to pharmaceuticals and medical devices [3]. The demand for medicines and medical devices is growing due to a diverse set of societal and market forces. The global population is growing and ageing; unhealthy, sedentary lifestyles are adding pressure too; and the global middle class – a demographic that typically expects easy access to modern healthcare provision – is increasing rapidly [4].
A challenge that is particular to our members is that between 30 and 90 per cent of the active ingredients in pharmaceuticals taken orally are excreted unchanged after consumption and enter the environment via sewage treatment works [5]. Alongside metabolites and degradation products, they contaminate water and soil, threatening wildlife and human health. Incorrect disposal of unwanted drugs, and pollution from pharmaceutical manufacturing plants, further compounds the problem.
So, with these challenges, how may pharmaceutical physicians contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of medicines across their lifecycles? In 2020, FPM surveyed its members on the robustness of clinical trials during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. What this revealed is that sometimes it takes a crisis to force innovation [6]. FPM members gave examples of practical innovations that had taken place as part of their work to support the ongoing delivery of clinical trials e.g. remote monitoring of subjects in their home environment rather than subjects travelling to clinical trial sites. The increasing awareness of the sustainability of developing, manufacturing, delivering and using medicines is fuelling interest in either developing new types of pharmaceuticals or re-designing existing ones to be more environmentally friendly, or ‘benign by design.’ [7]. This includes drugs that are better absorbed by the human body, or that biodegrade more rapidly in the environment.
It’s early days in our Strategy 2023-2025, but we have an ambitious vision where FPM plays a role in providing education that increases understanding of consumption and waste management, and gives better knowledge of the ecotoxicity of medicinal products. We also want to encourage the recruitment in regulatory agencies of personnel with an eco-toxicology background. Finally, we want to influence the pharmaceutical industry to better align their products with consumer needs, for example with regards to medicine packaging sizes.
What are we doing right now?
FPM has designed a simple CADS framework to help members in the steps they may wish to take in addressing sustainability:
Care: Amplify the voice of members who care about minimising the impact their work may have on the environment through membership of networks such as UKHACC.
Aware: Raise awareness around how medicines may impact the environment and steps that may be taken to minimise this.
Dare: Empower members to dare to challenge the status quo to achieve FPM’s vision of “A world where everyone can access effective medicines” so that living a healthy and sustainable life is a reality for all.
Share: Facilitate the sharing of resources and learnings with members and other bodies.
Share your story
Have you effectively championed sustainable practices? I’d love to hear all about it. Contact me in confidence at m.philbin@fpm.org.uk
Join us at our upcoming FPM Conversation
FPM will be exploring these ideas and innovations in more depth at our upcoming Conversation event: Why should pharmaceutical physicians care about environmental sustainability? on 3 May 2023.