Benchmarking Green Chemistry Adoption by the Global Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

Abstract

The pharmaceutical industry was among the first to embrace green chemistry (GC) with many “big pharma” companies creating GC teams, adopting metrics, tools, and training to “green” drug design and manufacturing. However, little is known about GC adoption by generic drug companies and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturers who manufacture the majority of drugs sold presently. The primary goal of this paper is to benchmark the adoption of GC by the entire pharmaceutical supply chain based on information from industry representatives leading such efforts. Data were obtained from 34 global companies participating in a survey, including 13 “big pharma”, five smaller R&D pharma, four generic pharma companies, and 12 API manufacturers (their classification is based on each company’s primary activity). Results demonstrate that time pressures to deliver new drugs and regulatory risk are the top two barriers to greater GC adoption, whereas costs savings and environmental regulations are the top two drivers. The study also demonstrates that, despite a lack of public disclosure, generic drug companies, API manufacturers, and smaller R&D pharma exhibit significant interest and some advances in using GC principles (e.g., 35% have a cross-functional team to lead these efforts and 25% use environmental factor, process mass intensity, and number of steps to track progress). However, 81% of these companies have no publicly stated commitment to GC, 43% do not use any GC metrics, 24% do not invest in green technology, and 58% are not involved in any external collaborations. The study concludes that wider adoption of green chemistry by the entire supply chain requires more effective and globally harmonized environmental regulations, use of life cycle assessment metrics, expanding GC education, and establishing effective supplier management programs.