The pharmaceutical industry is crucial to the healthcare sector, providing life-saving drugs and treatments for various medical conditions. However, producing these drugs often involves using animal-derived ingredients. Despite its effect on animals' suffering, it has attracted less attention than food and material space. At least to my knowledge, I have not seen many investments in this space.
“Research published in The BMJ in 2014 showed that 74 of the 100 most commonly prescribed medicines in primary care contained one or more of the excipients lactose, gelatine or magnesium stearate. Lactose was found in 59 of the drugs, magnesium stearate in 49 drugs, and gelatine in 20 drugs.” - Going vegan: the rise of animal-free medicines, The Pharmaceutical Journal
74% of the commonly prescribed medicines in primary care contain animal-derived ingredients - this is not a small number. Magnesium stearate, gelatine, and lactose are the most used in terms of animal-derived products in the production of medicines.
Animal-derived ingredients have been used in pharmaceuticals for centuries, and they continue to play an essential role in drug development today. Several commonly used medicines contain animal-derived ingredients. Here are a few examples:
Insulin: is used to treat diabetes and was originally derived from the pancreas of cows and pigs. Today, most insulin is made using genetically modified bacteria or yeast, but some brands still contain animal-derived ingredients.
Vaccines: Many vaccines contain animal-derived ingredients, such as albumin, which is used as a stabilizer. Some vaccines are also grown in animal cells or eggs.
Gelatin: It is often used in capsules, tablets, as part of modified release preparations, or to thicken liquids, and is usually derived from the skin and bone of cattle and pigs.
Magnesium stearate: used in the production of both tablets and powders, is most commonly derived from bovine tallow, a form of beef fat, although it can also be produced from plants.
Lactose: Lactose, a sugar derived from cow's milk, is commonly used as a filler or binder in tablets.
Heparin: Heparin, a blood-thinning drug, is derived from the mucous membranes of pigs and cows.
For instance, there is an alternative to Gelatine capsules, which is hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, commonly called HMPC, but its market share is still tiny.
At the end of August 2022, a search of the MHRA database of product information revealed that 2,732 products contained gelatine capsules in their SPC, whereas only 106 products contained hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HMPC) capsules, which is one of the main vegan alternatives.
Though there are some issues with HMPC capsules, such as the reduced release rates of the medicine compared with gelatine ones and can be brittle, causing challenges during large-scale manufacturing and potential leakage issues for patients.
Also, the manufacturing cost of making gelatin shells is meager. In contrast,
the investment cost of the HMPC technology is relatively high, and complexities are involved. We need to find better alternatives, maybe using Microalgae. I know some who are working on it.
An even more significant problem the space has is a missing labeling system. Medicines information is not always readily available. Because of this, it is difficult to determine the exact percentage of vegan or cruelty-free medicines.
Companies are committing to animal-free medicine future
Several pharmaceutical companies have committed to reducing their use of animal-derived ingredients and developing vegan and cruelty-free products.
For example, in 2019, the pharmaceutical company Sanofi announced that it would phase out the use of animal-derived ingredients in producing its insulin products, which are used to treat diabetes. The company also committed to developing a vegan insulin product in the future.
Similarly, the pharmaceutical company Roche has committed to reducing its use of animal-derived ingredients and developing more sustainable products. The company has also pledged to use only cage-free eggs to produce its vaccines.
“Most large drug companies have had a policy of removing animal products whenever they can for the last ten years, driven by public demand“- Kendal Pitt, senior technical director for solid oral dosage forms at GlaxoSmithKline
Using animal-derived ingredients in pharmaceuticals is a complex issue with ethical, environmental, and sustainability considerations to consider.
Written by Sagar Tandon, Partner at Beyond Impact.
Reference links
Why can’t all drugs be vegetarian? - https://www.bmj.com/bmj/section-pdf/752705?path=/bmj/348/7944/Analysis.full.pdf
O’Shaughnessy J. Letter from Lord James O’Shaughnessy. Department of Health. 2017 - https://www.vegansociety.com/sites/default/files/DH%20reply%20to%20APPG%20letter.pdf
Make More Medicines Vegan. The Vegan Society. https://www.vegansociety.com/take-action/campaigns/make-more-medicines-vegan#:~:text=The%20Vegan%20Society%20is%20calling,it%20comes%20to%20taking%20medicines.&text=Government%20to%20find%20out%20what,them%20in%20across%20the%20board.
Refusal of animal-derived medical products in a paediatric setting: Ethical issues https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7962704/
Common Medications Made With Animal Byproducts https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/diet-nutrition/medications-that-contain-animal-byproducts
HPMC Capsules Market Trends, Dynamics & Market Insights https://www.stratviewresearch.com/2342/HPMC-Capsules-Market.html
Gelatin Capsules Vs HPMC Capsules https://supplementfactoryuk.com/blog/2018/03/gelatin-capsules-vs-hpmc-capsules/
70% of Medicines Contain Substances of Animal Origin – Veggiepharm is Here to Make Change Happenhttps://vegconomist.com/health/70-of-medicines-contain-substances-of-animal-origin-veggiepharm-is-here-to-make-change-happen/
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