Pharmaceuticals in the environment – The situation today

Everyone contributes to the introduction of chemical substances and packaging waste into the environment. The presence of these substances, which are as numerous as they are diverse (pesticides, perfumes, plasticizing agents), represents a major challenge for society because of incomplete knowledge about their environmental impact. Pharmaceuticals are no exception.

The first publications reporting the presence of pharmaceutical substances in the environment date back to the mid-1970s. This phenomenon has since been confirmed for an increasing number of substances at nanogram per liter concentration level, as a result of improved analytical methods.

The risk for human health is low at this concentration. On the other hand, the environmental risk cannot be ignored, especially for certain classes of pharmaceutical substances that are especially active, such as hormones, antibiotics and cytotoxins.

Extensive research conducted on this topic has contributed to raising public awareness and regulatory changes. Currently an environmental risk assessment must be made for every new drug marketed in Europe and the United States. Regulatory environmental assessment is a relatively recent practice that has evolved over time, with the acquisition of knowledge.

Although new drugs undergo careful scrutiny from an environmental point of view, in particular during assessments part of the new drug approval process, some marketed pharmaceuticals are not as closely studied because regulatory requirements were less stringent when these products first appeared.

The sanofi-aventis Group considers this challenge to be a priority in its commitment to sustainable development.