Page 289 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

CHAPTER 14

Medical and

Pharmaceutical

Industries

Overview
The medical and pharmaceutical industries are among the highest in
terms of R&D spending as a percentage of revenue and, therefore,
invest a great deal of effort in product and process development.
From an environmental perspective, pharmaceuticals, along with
semiconductors, have a high proportion of non-product output, thus
offering a large target for resource intensity reduction. It has been
estimated that the total mass of materials required to deliver one kg
of product is 25 to 100 kg for pharmaceuticals, compared to 5 to 50 kg
for fine chemicals, and only 1 to 5 kg for bulk chemicals [1].
Another emerging issue of concern is the presence of trace levels
of pharmaceuticals in the environment. When pharmaceuticals are
ad ministered to patients, some of the active ingredients may not be
completely metabolized. These residuals are generally excreted through
the urine and find their way into sewage systems, where they are
transported to waste water treatment systems that remove most of
the pharmaceutical residues. However, extremely low concentrations
may pass through the waste water treatment plant and be discharged
to the environment. Despite low concentrations, low-level effects
have been observed in aquatic organisms.
Not surprisingly, medical and pharmaceutical companies are
among the leaders in the application of green chemistry, which offers
ways to reduce environmental impacts while cutting material and
energy costs (see Chapter 13). In 2005, several pharmaceutical firms,
along with the American Chemical Society’s Green Chemistry Insti-
tute, established a Pharmaceutical Roundtable to promote the inte-
gration of green chemistry and green engineering in the industry. For
example, solvents used in production can account for up to 80% of

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