Funding Opportunity
The pharmaceutical industry is essential in our day-to-day lives. Medicines and vaccines cure people of disease, neutralise symptoms, and delay the onset of diseases, boosting both life expectancy and quality of life .
Unfortunately, pharmaceuticals also have a significant negative impact on the environment. During the chemistry element of the drug development process, pollutants are emitted into the air, soil, and water. In addition, drug packaging is a significant source of waste and as a result of the various existing health and safety requirements, the development and usage of sustainable alternatives is complicated.
The Challenge
The environmental impact of the pharmaceutical sector has triggered calls from different international bodies to address the problem. Due to the interdependence of humans’, animals’ and ecosystems’ health, the World Health Organization (WHO) has deployed the One Health initiative, a unifying and integrated approach aiming to balance and optimise these fields. Through One Health, the WHO intends to address issues such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), foodborne diseases as a result of contamination and environmental health issues such as water and air pollution .
The urgency of improving sustainability in the pharmaceutical sector, particularly around circularity, has been highlighted by several organisations including the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries (EFPIA) , the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) , and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) . Circular pharma refers to the integration of circular economy principles in the pharmaceutical value chain. It has the aim of reducing the impact of pharmaceuticals on the environment, increasing transparency and instigating the use of renewable materials to safeguard future supplies of medicines and to improve sustainability. This starts with implementing green chemistry and the selection of renewable materials in the development process. Green chemistry involves creating chemical products and processes with the aim of minimising or even completely eliminating the use and production of hazardous substances . It requires an adequate product design, optimising dosage to cure patients, and enhancing the product lifetime including minimising waste generation. Finally, the correct disposal of unused drugs is necessary.
The scope of this Kick-start is to support companies looking to investigate the technical feasibility and commercial viability of services which address the sustainability challenges related to the pharmaceutical industry. It aims to demonstrate the relevance of space assets in the development of new services to reduce the environmental impact of the sector and its potential contribution to circular pharma.
Topics of Relevance
Three issues related to the sustainability of the pharmaceutical sector have been identified as relevant:
Disposal of unused & expired medicines
The EFPIA estimates that 3-8% of sold drugs are discarded as waste, leading to severe environmental impacts such as biodiversity loss and water pollution, which contribute to Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Poor wastewater treatment in low-income countries exacerbates these risks.
To reduce waste, pharmaceutical companies could adopt a just-in-time (JIT) approach, producing and delivering only what is needed, and adjusting batch sizes based on expired medicine returns. Efficient logistics are also essential in order to synchronise production and delivery, minimising inventory turnover and expired drugs. Furthermore, the efficient collection of expired drugs is crucial.
Effective collection of expired drugs varies, with countries like Sweden, Portugal, and the Netherlands performing well, while Baltic countries, particularly Lithuania, do far less well as a result of low awareness levels among the general population. Households often flush medicines into the sewage system or throw them away which results in a number of damaging impacts on the environment .
Examples of Potential Services
- JIT services to help reduce the number of expired drugs. To adapt the batch size of the medicines, integrated terrestrial- satellite communication (SatCom) networks can be exploited. SatCom can connect the healthcare stock management system, logistic centres, and disposal sites anywhere in the world, including those in remote locations.
- Services for the collection of expired drugs to avoid the release of chemicals. SatNav can facilitate the tracking of drugs transported in containers across their whole life cycle, including disposal.
- Services to track the effects associated with correct disposal of expired drugs, in order to implement corrective measures. Satellite Earth observation (SatEO) data can be used to monitor the impact of disposed drugs on the environment and to help monitor water quality. This enables the detection of vulnerable zones- areas that are most affected by the water pollution linked to incorrect disposal of medicines- and use the information for local awareness campaigns. Sharing the knowledge transparently with communities will trigger them to adapt their behaviour accordingly. This in turn will help reduce the amount of medicines that are thrown away or flushed into the sewage.
Digital Twin for Sustainable Pharma
Digital Twin (DT) technology offers numerous benefits, including faster, lower-cost solutions with reduced risks, and has recently been applied in the pharmaceutical sector. DT can aid in sustainable pharma by reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing processes, such as greenhouse gas emissions, through the optimisation of renewable energy systems. It also allows for machinery condition assessments, predicting optimal maintenance to maximise equipment lifespan. In drug development, DT can assess environmental impacts virtually, ensuring sustainable production methods and materials, while shortening testing times and costs. Furthermore, DT supports personalised medicine by optimising drug and dosage choices based on patient-specific data, improving treatment outcomes and reducing waste.
Examples of potential services
- DT requires sensors in the manufacturing process for real-time data collection, complemented by SatNav can for geo-tagging.
- During drug development, SatEO data can evaluate environmental impacts, providing water quality and GHG emissions information before production. Predictive scenarios can assess future impacts.
- In operation management, SatEO data aids in the transition to renewable energy, predicting energy production and optimising the energy mix for various consumption scenarios.
- For personalised medicines, SatCom ensures continuous communication with patients, allowing DT to adjust treatments in real-time based on data from body sensors.
Circularity in the pharmaceutical industry
A circular economy in the pharmaceutical sector focuses on reducing waste, with each kilogramme of medicine generating around 100 kg of waste. Circular pharma aims to minimise waste across the entire life cycle of medicines, including chemicals from manufacturing, machinery, and packaging. Pharmaceuticals significantly pollute water as active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in urine aren't filtered out by current wastewater treatment plants, leading to environmental contamination and the development of AMR . Further, drug packaging that came in contact with blood, blood-derived products, radioactive products or cytotoxic products require special attention . It is essential to ensure their proper disposal and recycling and minimise environmental impact. Finally, manufacturing machinery of pharmaceuticals become rapidly outdated. Enhancing water treatment and recycling of the drugs packaging, as well as refurbishing outdated manufacturing machinery, are crucial steps.
Examples of potential services
- A first application supporting the efficiency and planning of WWTPs is monitoring the environmental and weather conditions related to the spread of disease. This allows to predict the use of medicines linked to it and therefore the need for new equipment or WWTP.
- Monitoring of water quality supported by SatEO is another way to assess the need for WWTP and help in decision-making optimise their location. When WWTPs are in areas not covered by terrestrial infrastructure, they can also benefit from SatCom to collect and transfer data from in-situ sensors e.g., monitoring the performance of the equipment. Finally, drones, guided by GNSS, can be used for the inspection of the WWTP.
- Another application of space relates to both manufacturing equipment of pharmaceuticals and contaminated packaging. SatNav can be exploited to develop efficient routes in order to optimise their collection.
Value of Space
Satellite Earth Observation (SatEO):SatEO can help monitor the impact of drugs on the environment, such as GHG emissions or water quality, monitor environmental and weather conditions affecting the spread of disease and support WWTP operations. Historical weather patterns provided by SatEO data, combined with DT of the pharmaceutical plant, can support decision making in the shift towards renewable energy.
Satellite Communications (SatCom): SatCom can support different use cases including: data transfer from stock management systems to optimise the use of drugs before their expiration date and JIT production, remote communication with patients when their personalised treatment needs to be adapted according to the DT predictions, communication from remote sensors to the DT.
Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS): GNSS can facilitate the collection of expired drugs, and the tracking of medicines, outdated equipment and contaminated drug packaging. GNSS-guided drones can be used in the planning of new WWTP facilities and for the inspection of the plants, and for geo-tagging in situ data needed to complement EO-based data.
What we look for
Kick-Start activities explore the business opportunity and the technical viability of new applications and services that exploit one or more space assets (e.g. Satellite Communications, Satellite Navigation, Earth Observation, Human Spaceflight Technology).
This call for Kick-Start activities is dedicated to the theme “Space for Sustainable Pharma”, which means that the call is open to companies that intend to develop space-enabled applications and services supporting the transition towards sustainability in the pharmaceutical sector. These are not restricted to the topics of relevance mentioned above.
What we offer
We offer funding and support to companies, both for business case assessment and for the development of new, space-based services.
Our offer includes:
- Technical & commercial guidance
- Access to our network and partners
- Use of the ESA brand for your service
- Zero-equity funding
Each selected activity will receive 75% funding by the European Space Agency of up to 100K.
How to Apply
- Register your team on esa-star Registration today
- When the Kick-Start opens on 23 September 2024 visit esa-star Publication and search for this Space for Sustainable Pharma opportunity to download the official competition documents
- Use the official documents to prepare your proposal.
- Reach out to your National Delegate (if applicable) to request a Letter of Authorisation. Contact details of each National Delegate can be found here:
- Submit your proposal via esa-star Tendering before the deadline the 3 November 2024.
Authorisation of Funding
ESA Space Solutions can provide funding to perform Kick-Start activities to any company (economic operator) residing in the following Member States: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Germany, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom have pre-authorised the funding to this call. Applicants from these countries do not need to obtain a letter of authorisation from their National Delegation.
Webinar
A Webinar will be held on 20 September 2024. Please register using the link at the top of the page.