Centering Sustainability and Environmental Impact in the Supply Chain

Chris Spivey, editorial director for Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharm International, spoke with Concetto Andrea Rizza, Marketing and Communications manager, ICE Pharma, on the show floor at CPhI Barcelona 2023. Founded more than 70 years ago, ICE Pharma has a network of manufacturing facilities and subsidiaries in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. They are a key supplier to the pharmaceutical industry for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) including Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and Inosine Pranobex. They also supply excipients, cell culture media for diagnostics, GMP intermediates and research chemicals. One of their key differentiators is their commitment to sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, extending beyond into workforce recruitment and partner development activities. They recently published a sustainability report , and their booth at CPhI attracted a lot of attention for embodying their green approach, which is evidenced in this video discussion.

For several years, Ice Pharma have tracked their greenhouse emissions and have taken steps to reduce their impact, including the installation of highly efficient modern technologies, continuous improvement initiatives, and material investments. While they aim to drive product innovation, to develop new drugs, and to address unmet medical needs in biliary acid research and innovation, they simultaneously seek to become less reliant on animal by-products, and to reduce chemicals and energy resources in production.

ICE Pharma has made a commitment of at least 50% of their R&D investments to initiatives that drive product continuity and sustainability each year, including alternative ingredients and processes with a lower environmental impact. To do this, they must engage a minimum of two customers per research initiative by addressing product sustainability, and introduce one new molecule as a lead candidate for pre-clinical studies every two years. Further, they seek to ensure that suppliers constituting 80% of their spend on bile and other materials are covered by a Responsible Supply Chain Management program, by 2027. The CPhI booth is a living embodiment of these goals as it is constructed from post-consumer recycled materials and will be stored and re-deployed at future conferences, saving these materials from the typical landfill fate.