A global movement focused on corporate sustainability is gaining ground in the country with the biopharmaceutical industry taking a lead in making a long-term impact for the greater good.
In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
While the Covid-19 pandemic has put a number of initiatives to a pause, the country’s biopharmaceutical companies have set in motion sustainability strategies to guide them on actions that will be beneficial for the people, business and planet.
These industry leaders, who are also trustees of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), have rolled up their sleeves to embed sustainability as part of their corporate identity, responsibility and action.
For Bayer Philippines Managing Director Angel Michael Evangelista, sustainable development is a core element of Bayer’s corporate strategy and core values. Guided by its vision of “Health for all, hunger for none,” Bayer has been promoting inclusive growth and a responsible use of resources to help people and planet thrive.
He also believed that a growing and aging world population and the increasing burden on ecosystems are among the biggest challenges that the people are facing today.
“Bayer can contribute to solving these global challenges through its businesses: with our activities and our products, we help to sustainably improve farming and access to nutrition and healthcare – and thus people’s lives,” said Evangelista whose company has three divisions focusing on Crop Science, Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Health.
As part of a holistic approach, a number of biopharmaceutical companies have embedded Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies in the way they operate. Taking leadership in the implementation of ESG is MSD Philippines President and Managing Director Andreas Riedel.
The MSD has been championing four ESG focus areas namely expanding access to health; developing and rewarding a diverse, inclusive and healthy workforce; protecting the environment; and operating with the highest standards of ethics and values.
“At a global level, MSD has the goal to further advance health equity by reaching 30 million people in low- and middle-income countries and in U.S. underserved populations with our social investments by 2025. MSD has also the goal to enable 100 million more people to access our innovative portfolio globally, through access strategies, solutions and partnerships,” said Riedel whose company has both human and animal health as focus areas.
In the context of the World Health Organization (WHO), it explained that sustainable development requires an integrated approach that takes into consideration environmental concerns along with economic development.
In the face of a changing climate, Riedel said that the company’s environmental sustainability strategy has been in the areas of driving operational efficiency, designing new products to minimize environmental impact, and reducing any impacts in their upstream and downstream value chain.
Sustainability in action through science during the pandemic
In this time of COVID-19 pandemic, MSD has demonstrated its sustainability commitment by making their medicines and vaccines accessible. Specifically, it began executing on a comprehensive supply and access strategy early on in the pandemic to accelerate equitable global access to molnupiravir, an investigational oral antiviral COVID-19 medicine.
In 2021, MSD granted voluntary licenses to multiple generic manufacturers and to the Medicines Patent Pool to make generic molnupiravir available in more than 100 low- and middle- income countries, including the Philippines following approvals or emergency authorization by local regulatory agencies.
“The pandemic has been a wake-up call to the entire health-care industry, globally and here in the Philippines. It compelled us to really focus on what matters most— unceasingly putting patients first to save and improve lives with our leading-edge science,” Riedel said.
Apart from driving sustainability through scientific innovation for patients during the pandemic, MSD has also been advocating further private-public collaborations to accelerate the implementation of Universal Health Care (UHC) and the full implementation of the National Integrated Cancer Control Act (NICCA). Throughout the pandemic, they have also been advancing vaccination confidence for both COVID-19 and other vaccine preventable diseases to protect children, adolescents, and adults.
Sustainability through women’s health and empowerment
The WHO said that the health of women and girls is of particular concern as some may be disadvantaged by discrimination due to sociocultural factors as well as poverty. Apart from these, the pandemic has also limited women’s access to health services and education in the last two years.
With focus on women’s health, Evangelista said that they intend to provide women in low-and-middle income countries by 2030 with access to modern contraception by funding multi-stakeholder aid programs and by ensuring the supply of affordable modern contraceptives. Consistent with the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act and in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Evangelista disclosed that Bayer plans to participate in government programs that will provide universal access to methods on contraception, fertility control, sexual education, and maternal care.
Deeply committed to women empowerment, Bayer has also relaunched its flagship Bayer Kubo program in Manaoag, Pangasinan and Dolores, Quezon. The Bayer Learning Center in these sites have become a venue for farmers in the community where they can learn best practices and see the latest solutions available for vegetable production.
“With the Bayer Kubo program in place, women farmers and farmers’ wives can get expert-led training on family planning, farmer self-care, and basic farm financial management,” said Evangelista. “The program plans to develop and empower Community Champions that will ensure continued knowledge sharing and capacity building to train more community members on the best practices of family planning, farmer self-care, and smallholder farmer support.”
Championing ethics and governance in the industry
Endorsed by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies including the Philippines, the Mexico City Principles (MCP) stated that ethical interactions help ensure that medical decisions are based in the best interests of patients. Aligned with this is the PHAP Guiding Principles on Ethical Conduct which has placed the healthcare and well-being of patients as the first priority of its member companies.
In ensuring that it continues to conduct business in an ethical and compliant way, Bayer has tasked the Managing Director to initiate concrete and minimum of two per year “tone from the top” activities to reinforce the appropriate behaviors consistent with the company code.
“Collaboration with our legal, patent and compliance team is embedded in our processes to ensure that compliance risks are properly assessed and that ways to mitigate them are fully explored. Compliance training needs within teams are likewise identified by people managers at least once a year and addressed appropriately,” explained Evangelista.
Riedel, meanwhile, said that ethics and integrity are the foundation for how MSD operates. Employees abide by their company Code of Conduct which placed in detail clear ethical expectations and principles to guide the operations of their organization. For example, MSD has fostered a culture where employees can and are encouraged to speak up and ensure that ethics and values are represented in everything they do.
“Through our unwavering commitment to transparency, we earn the trust and confidence of our stakeholders. A fully ethical, values-based and accountable culture improves the Company’s decision-making, adaptability and reliability,” said Riedel.