Aligning environmental, social, and governance to clinical development: moving towards more sustainable clinical trials
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Drug development is among the highest producers of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with about 4.4%–4.6% of the worldwide GHG emissions coming from the thousands of clinical trials being carried out annually by the pharmaceutical industry. In a world where environmental stewardship, social diversity, and equitable governance (ESG) are progressively becoming biomarkers of business purpose, adopting practices that demonstrate the same within the clinical trials stakeholder network is imperative. With the pharma companies encouraged to take the climate pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, the ESG strategies must be closely aligned with the clinical development requirements, targeting efficient clinical operations and innovative, leaner, and customized trial designs. There is also an urgent requirement to develop tools capable of measuring the carbon footprint of clinical trials and guidelines on how to reduce it. This article discusses/reviews how regulators, pharmaceutical companies, and clinical researchers can align with the ESG goals for the efficient conduct of clinical trials, including those of biologicals and biosimilars.
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Engineering
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7125522571