Water
2027 Target: Reduce water consumption by 40% from a 2019 baseline.
We work at a site-level to conserve water through our eliminate-reduce-reuse-recycle approach. We use new technologies and implement water-efficiency projects and water treatment and recycling efforts, while sharing best practices. While our strategy is global, we focus on Amgen sites in water-stressed regions. We also monitor our wastewater discharge in compliance with local wastewater requirements.
Pharmaceuticals in the Environment
Amgen's Commitment to Understanding, Managing and Monitoring Pharmaceuticals in the Environment
In recent decades, small amounts of pharmaceutical products and their metabolites have been periodically detected in surface and ground water but vary rarely in drinking water. Understandably, public interest has grown about the potential impacts of pharmaceuticals on the environment, and the scientific community has increased its efforts to study this issue.
Amgen is committed to studying the impacts of pharmaceuticals on the environment as a routine part of assessing the lifecycle and environmental footprint of the Company's products at every stage, from development to disposal.
Amgen Medicines and the Environment
As a biotechnology company, most of Amgen's products are biologic medicines. Biologics are similar to complex proteins that exist in nature. Like naturally occurring proteins, biologics are biodegradable. As proteins, biological products break down quickly when exposed to ambient environmental conditions like light, air, water, pH, temperature and chemicals. These products don't remain biologically active in the environment for any significant amount of time and therefore aren't considered to be a significant environmental risk.
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 don't 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.
How Amgen Supports Regulation and the Study of Pharmaceuticals in the Environment
- Amgen works collaboratively with the pharmaceutical industry, regulators, stakeholders and the scientific community to comply with regulations governing the health and safety of medicines, while also participating in efforts to increase understanding of the environmental impact of the Company's business and products.
- Amgen's medicines are evaluated for potential environmental risk as required by guidelines set by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for marketing applications.
- With industry-leading expertise in environmental toxicology, Amgen collaborates with colleagues in the American Chemical Society, the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, the Society for Risk Analysis and the Society of Toxicology to study pharmaceuticals in the environment.
- Amgen partners with industry organizations such as the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations to improve methods to identify and quantify environmental risks of pharmaceutical products.
- Amgen has provided suggestions to the EMA to improve the science and transparency of its environmental risk assessment guidance.
How Amgen Monitors Its Operations
- Amgen seeks to comply with all applicable environmental regulations, including local wastewater agreements that regulate the amounts and types of materials that can be discharged in wastewater. This includes routinely performing internal audits at all manufacturing, research and development and distribution facilities.
- At all Amgen sites involved with processes that could affect the environment, staff members are trained to perform their jobs conscientiously and to practice proper disposal of waste, accurate monitoring of environmental discharges and emissions, and appropriate handling of hazardous materials.
- Amgen sets high-level performance expectations through our Supplier Code of Conduct to help ensure that suppliers worldwide comply with all environmental compliance rules.
Patient Support for Managing Pharmaceuticals in the Environment
Some of Amgen's products are combination products, which means the medicine or drug product is distributed in combination with a delivery device. Amgen provides product take-back programs to help patients responsibly dispose of their used, unused and/or expired combination products or medicines.
Amgen is also a member of the Pharmaceutical Product Stewardship Working Group, which addresses and facilitates the disposal of unwanted, unused or expired medicines.
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