Vishal Pratap Singh | Thursday, 24 March 2022
The pharmaceutical industry has a substantial impact on the environment, especially when the materials used to make them and the chemicals that comprise make their way directly into the environment. “The pharmaceutical industry can take steps to make use of medicines more sustainable through both significant and relatively minor changes”, says KVS Ram Rao, Joint Managing Director and CEO, Granules India.
Today, only 50 per cent of the global population has access to essential healthcare which is halfway to the United Nations’ goal of achieving 100 per cent of universal coverage by the year 2040. The global pharma manufacturing market size was estimated at USD 405.52 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 957.59 billion in 2028.
Affecting Environment
It is seen that the drugs that are consumed by patients naturally enter into the environment as their body turns it into waste. This issue becomes exacerbated when people intentionally dispose of unused medicine by flushing it down the drain.
Affecting Animals and Human Beings
Although the water treatment systems are designed to take contaminants out of wastewater before reintroducing to the natural environment, some still get through. These contaminants, which include those medications can damage the ecosystem they end up in.
Experts say that high levels of estrogen in waters due to birth control, for example, can hamper the ability of fish to reproduce which will reduce their population in long run. Once these chemicals find their way into the water, they enter the food chain and eventually impact animals that live on land too, including humans.
Plants also absorb the chemicals from medications and then animals eat these plants or drink the water and ingest the contaminants. This situation can also turn into human health hazard if humans drink that water or eat the plants or animals.
Digitalised Manufacturing
Sustainability needs to be factored into pharmaceutical manufacturing from the start. It’s in the early phases of the design that one pays attention in the environmental, social and business sustainability requirements to be able to optimize them.
To do so, pharmaceutical manufacturers need to transition to digitalised manufacturing to manufacture more sustainably. While following the strategy of sustainability, it’s important to remember that any packaging which falls short of serving its purpose is never sustainable, no matter the material reduction, recyclability or use of recycled materials.
In pharma manufacturing, the patient needs are the most important considerations. The ultimate goal is to achieve a safe delivery to the patient along with all necessary components and instructions for an effective application.
Combination of Technologies and Expertise
Although the high sterility, efficacy and safety standards of the pharmaceutical and medical device industries provide some barriers to traditional avenues of material savings, these two sectors have seen a rise in collaborative problem solving to drive innovation in many areas, including sustainability.
As healthcare treatments become more complex, the pharmaceutical and medical device industries will continue to merge their technologies and expertise to deliver patient solutions that combine pharmaceuticals and medical devices into one simple and convenient product.
It ultimately presents opportunities to become more sustainable through consolidation. This approach will help to address better patient compliance, to utilize unique drug discovery methods and to improve package integrity and product safety.
Use of Clean Technologies
Majority of pharmaceutical companies work tirelessly to reduce the amount of power, air or water used on a line. For example, reducing the amount of heat used to shrink a lid is sustainable, as is looking at ways to reduce water consumption, or to optimize utility usage such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). Some companies are also giving serious considerations to clean technologies, such as solar, wind or power generated by biofuels which is a huge step forward.
Challenges in the Way Lack in Innovation:-
India is rich in its manpower and talent but there is lack of capabilities in the innovation space. The government needs to invest in research initiatives and talent to grow India’s innovation. The government should support the clinical trials and subjectivity in certain regulatory decision making removed.
Lack of Stable Policy Environment:-
There is a challenge created by the unexpected and frequent domestic pricing policy needs to be changed in India. It has created a vague environment for investments and innovations. IPA suggests that both the government and stakeholders should work together to develop a plan to produce affordable Indian patients’ drugs.
The Way Forward
To achieve the sustainable pharma manufacturing, Indian pharma companies have to take some bold strategic moves into uncharted territories. Pharmaceutical manufacturers need to adopt a new paradigm to optimize their complex industrial plants, processes and products. They need to digitalize their manufacturing because it is the only way to enable diverse stakeholders to come together and systematically determine, among many considerations.