By CN Madrid
Continuously innovating to improve people’s quality of life is, clearly, the first objective facing the pharmaceutical sector. Immediately followed by doing so by reducing the environmental impact both in the production processes and in the use of medicines.
For both purposes, the industry “continues to invest in Research and Development (R&D), to obtain new treatments that improve people’s quality of life while seeking to reduce the environmental footprint,” explains Goretti Hidalgo, Head of Corporate Communications, Shared Value & Sustainability of Chiesi Spain and Portugal.
«As a B Corp company, at Chiesi our commitment to facing the challenge of climate change is firm: to care for the planet, people and their health. “The company addresses decarbonization without leaving any patient behind, with a clear focus on innovation and sustainability,” the directive continues. In fact, decarbonization “is one of the commitments of the international pharmaceutical group, focused on research and development, which has set the goal of reaching net zero emissions (Net Zero). These emissions reduction targets are validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Climate change, threat to public health
For the company, “it is vital to work on creating innovative therapeutic solutions, advancing sustainability by prioritizing the control of patients and their clinical needs.” Because air pollution and climate change, Hidalgo insists, represent a very significant threat to people with respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD. It is the practical application of the concept of “shared value”: creating value for patients and the planet.
On the other hand, the company’s main source of greenhouse gas emissions are, precisely, the propellant gases from pressurized inhalers (pMDI). Hence the company’s purpose to develop them with a minimum carbon footprint. Achieving the transition between the current propellant to a new next-generation one, HFA-152a, has been a fundamental step, in which it has invested 400 million euros. The Chiesi group completed the TRECOS phase III clinical trial, a key milestone in the development of its portfolio of pressurized inhalers with a minimal carbon footprint. This advancement marks an important step in Chiesi’s commitment to offering sustainable respiratory care aligned with the ambition to achieve Net Zero across its value chain by 2035.
A piece of context to place the relevance of this action: in Spain it is estimated that six million people suffer from asthma or COPD and for whom pMDI inhalers are a necessary therapy in their treatment. Hence the importance of developing a new next-generation propellant (HFA-152a), which reduces the carbon footprint by 90% along with solid data regarding safety and absence of toxicity.
«It is one of the most notable actions in our Net Zero roadmap, and demonstrates the need to advance sustainability without compromising the success of the treatment and without leaving any patient behind. This example shows how, in the current context, in the face of disruptive innovation, incremental innovation focused on the environmental part is positioned as a key element to achieve decarbonization objectives in the healthcare sector.
Environmental commitments
Another of the axes of the group’s sustainability strategy is the expansion of the use of sustainable product design tools. «An example of this is the use of ‘Carbon Smart PET’ in the production of more sustainable primary packaging, a material obtained from the biofermentation process initiated with the capture of carbon emissions. These types of decisions are part of a mitigation strategy focused on avoiding emissions-intensive processes, promoting reduction and supporting our commitment through concrete actions.
At Chiesi “we are making progress in achieving net zero emissions across the entire value chain in 2035, 15 years ahead of the European goal.”