Framework Evaluating Economic and Environmental Sustainability of Medical Drugs

The production of medical drugs is costly and may negatively impact the environment. Researchers Stefano Cucurachi and Justin Lian have created a framework designed to assist the healthcare system in evaluating medical compounds' economic and environmental sustainability.

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As the population continues to grow and age, coupled with an increasing number of people living with chronic illnesses, healthcare expenses are on the rise, and the pharmaceutical sector is experiencing rapid expansion. Additionally, patients and healthcare providers are starting to question the environmental effects of medications. However, there is limited data available regarding this matter.

Some sources claim 10% of all pharmaceuticals have an environmental risk, but only the smallest fraction has ever been assessed.

 Stefano Cucurachi, Study Corresponding Author and Associate Professor, Industrial Ecology, Leiden University

Greener Decisions

In collaboration with environmental engineering postdoctoral researcher Justin Lian, Cucurachi established a framework designed to assess both the environmental impact and the development costs associated with pharmaceutical ingredients. This framework serves as a tool to facilitate more sustainable decision-making in pharmaceutical manufacturing and is significant for both the industry and policy-making. This research is a part of the LIFE GREENAPI project.

Based on a COVID-Drug

The researchers developed their framework by conducting an environmental and economic evaluation of nine synthetic pathways for Molnupiravir, a broad-spectrum antiviral medication for the treatment of COVID-19.

“We could do this thanks to a collaboration with a Chinese pharmaceutical university that can synthesize active pharmaceutical ingredients. We used their primary data to assess the preferable ways of synthesizing this compound from both an environmental sustainability and a cost perspective,” says Cucurachi.

Solvent Use and Process Design

We found that solvent use and process design dominate the environmental footprint and the cost of production. Some solvents are quite toxic and have a big impact on the environment, whereas biocatalysts have a low impact and low costs. And they have the potential to be produced on an industrial scale.

Justin Lian, Study Corresponding Author, Industrial Ecology, Leiden University

Scrutiny

The framework could have a huge impact, said Cucurachi. “There’s a lot of scrutiny of pharmaceuticals before they’re administered to humans because of potential adverse effects, but they could also harm the environment. You’d want to know that early on in the drug development process rather than after these substances have been deployed on a large scale.”