Overview

The pharmaceutical industry is essential in our day-to-day lives. Medicines and vaccines cure people of disease, neutralise symptoms, and delay the onset of diseases, boosting both life expectancy and quality of life .

Unfortunately, pharmaceuticals also have a significant negative impact on the environment. During the chemistry element of the drug development process, pollutants are emitted into the air, soil, and water. In addition, drug packaging is a significant source of waste and as a result of the various existing health and safety requirements, the development and usage of sustainable alternatives is complicated.

Scope

The environmental impact of the pharmaceutical sector has triggered calls from different international bodies to address the problem. Due to the interdependence of humans’, animals’ and ecosystems’ health, the World Health Organization (WHO) has deployed the One Health initiative, a unifying and integrated approach aiming to balance and optimise these fields. Through One Health, the WHO intends to address issues such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), foodborne diseases as a result of contamination and environmental health issues such as water and air pollution .

The urgency of improving sustainability in the pharmaceutical sector, particularly around circularity, has been highlighted by several organisations including the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries (EFPIA) , the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) , and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) . Circular pharma refers to the integration of  circular economy principles in the pharmaceutical value chain.  It has the aim of reducing the impact of pharmaceuticals on the environment, increasing transparency and instigating the use of renewable materials to safeguard future supplies of medicines and to improve sustainability. This starts with implementing green chemistry and the selection of renewable materials in the development process. Green chemistry involves creating chemical products and processes with the aim of minimising or even completely eliminating the use and production of hazardous substances . It requires an adequate product design, optimising dosage to cure patients, and enhancing the product lifetime including minimising waste generation. Finally, the correct disposal of unused drugs is necessary.

The scope of this Kick-start is to support companies looking to investigate the technical feasibility and commercial viability of services which address the sustainability challenges related to the pharmaceutical industry. It aims to demonstrate the relevance of space assets in the development of new services to reduce the environmental impact of the sector and its potential contribution to circular pharma.

Topics of Relevance

Three issues related to the sustainability of the pharmaceutical sector have been identified as relevant:

Disposal of unused & expired medicines 

The EFPIA estimates that  3-8% of sold drugs are discarded as waste, leading to severe environmental impacts such as biodiversity loss and water pollution, which contribute to Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Poor wastewater treatment in low-income countries exacerbates these risks.

To reduce waste, pharmaceutical companies could adopt a just-in-time (JIT) approach, producing and delivering only what is needed, and adjusting batch sizes based on expired medicine returns. Efficient logistics are also essential in order to synchronise production and delivery, minimising inventory turnover and expired drugs. Furthermore, the efficient collection of expired drugs is crucial.

Effective collection of expired drugs varies, with countries like Sweden, Portugal, and the Netherlands performing well, while Baltic countries, particularly Lithuania, do far less well as a result of low awareness levels among the general population. Households often flush medicines into the sewage system or throw them away which results in a number of damaging impacts on the environment .

Examples of Potential Services

• JIT services to help reduce the number of expired drugs. To adapt the batch size of the medicines, integrated terrestrial- satellite communication (SatCom) networks can be exploited. SatCom can connect  the healthcare stock management system, logistic centres, and disposal sites anywhere in the world, including those in remote locations.
• Services for the collection of expired drugs to avoid the release of chemicals. SatNav can facilitate the tracking of drugs transported in containers across their whole life cycle, including disposal.
• Services to track the effects associated with correct disposal of expired drugs, in order to implement corrective measures. Satellite Earth observation (SatEO) data can be used to monitor the impact of disposed drugs on the environment and to help monitor water quality. This enables the detection of vulnerable zones- areas that are most affected by the water pollution linked to incorrect disposal of medicines- and use the information for local awareness campaigns. Sharing the knowledge transparently with communities will trigger them to adapt their behaviour accordingly. This in turn will help reduce the amount of medicines that are thrown away or flushed into the sewage.

Digital Twin for Sustainable Pharma

Digital Twin (DT) technology offers numerous benefits, including faster, lower-cost solutions with reduced risks, and has recently been applied in the pharmaceutical sector. DT can aid in sustainable pharma by reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing processes, such as greenhouse gas emissions, through the optimisation of renewable energy systems. It also allows for machinery condition assessments, predicting optimal maintenance to maximise equipment lifespan. In drug development, DT can assess environmental impacts virtually, ensuring sustainable production methods and materials, while shortening testing times and costs. Furthermore, DT supports personalised medicine by optimising drug and dosage choices based on patient-specific data, improving treatment outcomes and reducing waste.