Amgen Biodiversity Statement

As defined by the World Health Organization, biodiversity refers to biological variety in all its forms, from humans to microbes.¹ Human health and wellbeing directly and indirectly benefit from biodiversity and nature, from reliance on food and access to clean water and the development of new medicines and pharmaceuticals.

Biodiversity faces threats from activities such as habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, resource overexploitation, and the spread of invasive species. The biopharmaceutical industry can also impact plant, animal, and microbe populations through manufacturing and the use of natural resources for drug development.

The loss of biodiversity can reduce ecosystem resilience, with the potential to impact society by threatening food security, increase vulnerability to natural disasters, and reduce availability of resources. Conservation efforts to prevent such losses include establishing protected areas, restoring habitats, sustainable agricultural and forestry practices, and international cooperation under agreements like the Convention on Biological Diversity.

At Amgen, we understand the importance of safeguarding our local and global natural ecosystems to help protect biodiversity and business resilience. We are committed to responsible operations that support environmental sustainability, including biodiversity-related strategies. Amgen is a signatory to the United Nations (UN) Global Compact and has endorsed the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Amgen also supports the Convention on Biological Diversity 2050 Mission and 2030 Mission.

Link to Amgen Strategy

Protecting biodiversity is aligned to our strategic priority of continuous improvement.  We seek to improve our processes to minimize biodiversity impacts, but this effort will take many years of iterative solutions.  Amgen's Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Council comprises executive-level staff responsible for setting our ESG strategy and programs, including programs tied to biodiversity, that complement and bolster the enterprise. Dedicated steering committees then coordinate the implementation of each of the elements of the ESG strategy, with the support of subject-matter experts. This governance structure ensures that biodiversity is appropriately considered in decision making at the highest levels in the company.  The Amgen Board of Directors, with the support of its applicable committees, reviews ESG topics regularly.

Our Progress and Objectives

Amgen has implemented initiatives to start addressing potential biodiversity risks. For example, Amgen Ecovation™, our approach to innovative and sustainable manufacturing, is embedded into the upfront design, development, and execution of new buildings to minimize our environmental footprint, thereby directly and indirectly protecting nature and biodiversity.  

As a biotechnology company, most of Amgen's products are biologic medicines. Biologics are similar to complex proteins and break down quickly when exposed to ambient environmental conditions like light, air, water, pH, temperature and chemicals.  Amgen's product portfolio also contains some products that are small molecule medicines. To maintain their medicinal properties for longer periods of time in the body, many small molecule medicines are designed to be stable compounds that do not readily degrade. As a regular part of the drug development process, Amgen evaluates the lifecycle and potential environmental impact of our small molecule products. The pharmaceutical industry and scientific community continue to study the environmental impact and potential risks of these medicines. 

Amgen is also committed to working toward both the use of sustainable suppliers and advancing animal-free methods for drug development and toxin testing, where possible. For example, Amgen is actively working with regulators and external business partners to replace a research and development test derived from the blood of horseshoe crabs with a non-animal-derived option. Amgen is also working with biopharmaceutical industry groups to identify potential supply chain biodiversity risk areas that might necessitate further action.

To identify further biodiversity-related opportunities, Amgen considers the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework. This framework aids companies in assessing nature-related impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities. Consequently, in 2023, Amgen completed a screening-level biodiversity risk assessment for Amgen's key facilities and supplier sites located across the globe that represent ecologically diverse regions and critical operations in Amgen's value chain. Amgen will continue working to align with the elements of TNFD to further its biodiversity ambition.

In addition to a top-down commitment to nature and biodiversity protection, Amgen empowers its employees to make changes at the grassroots, global, and site levels.  For example, at the grassroots level through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), each with its own executive sponsors, Amgen's Recognition of Indigenous Peoples, Values and Environmental Resources (RIVER) ERG has a vision to connect our business to the current and historical importance of Indigenous Peoples and their interconnection with nature. The RIVER ERG has helped Amgen staff learn more about biodiversity and humans' interactions with and interdependencies on nature. Furthermore, at the global level, several staff-led engagement events are held annually across the enterprise with a lens towards biodiversity, including in support of Earth Day and Arbor Day and participating in International Coastal Cleanup® activities. At the site level, staff are partnering with local non-profit organizations to protect habitats and species, through knowledge sharing, education, and ecosystem restoration.

Amgen will continue to build on its efforts to help prevent and reverse nature and biodiversity loss through sustainability stewardship across our operations and partnerships across our value chain.

Updated: October 2024

References: