Pharma and ESG - The Patient Perspective - The Views of 1,500 Patient Groups

This analysis of patient-group opinions on ESG is based on two online surveys conducted between November and February 2021 and 2020. 

This report examines:

• Patient-group familiarity with ESG.
• The importance of corporate ESG to patient groups.
• Patient-group involvement in defining ESG criteria and assessing company performance at ESG.
• How 47 pharma companies perform for ESG from a patient perspective.
• Six pharma companies report on their ESG activities of importance to patients.

Companies evaluated by patient groups for their ESG activities: AbbVie - Acorda Therapeutics - Almirall - Amgen - Astellas Pharma - AstraZeneca - Bayer - Biogen - Boehringer Ingelheim - Bristol Myers Squibb - Chiesi Farmaceutici - CSL Behring - Daiichi Sankyo - Dr Reddy’s - Eisai - Eli Lilly - Ferring - Gedeon Richter - Gilead Sciences - Grifols - Grünenthal - GSK - Horizon Therapeutics - Ipsen - Janssen - LEO Pharma - Lundbeck - Menarini - Merck & Co (known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada) - Merck KGaA/EMD Serono - Mylan - Novartis - Novo Nordisk - Octapharma - Otsuka - Pfizer - Pierre Fabre - Roche/Genentech/Chugai - Sandoz - Sanofi - Servier - Sun Pharma - Takeda - Teva - UCB - Vertex - ViiV Healthcare  

The six pharma companies which provided reports on their ESG activities of importance to patients Boehringer Ingelheim - Gilead Sciences - Lundbeck USA - Merck & Co (known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada) - Pfizer - ViiV Healthcare

Patient-group familiarity with ESG
Although the terms ‘environmental, social, and governance’ are far from being universally embedded in the patient experience, or in healthcare culture, recognition of the purpose and definition of ESG is growing slowly among patient groups. 55% of patient groups responding to a 2021 survey stated that they “Did not know” about pharma’s ESG activities (a decrease from the 61% of respondent patient groups stating the same in the 2020 survey). 

Many of these patient groups feel that pharma companies could do much more to communicate their ESG strategies to patient groups. 
 
“Tell patients more about what they are trying to do.”
- International mental-health patient group, Ireland 
 
“Be open in informing about companies’ stances regarding environmental, social, and governance(ESG) issues.”
- National bleeding-disorders patient group, Switzerland 
 
“Information disclosure in this specific area should be strengthened.”
- National HIV/AIDS patient group, China 

The importance of corporate ESG to patient groups
Only a few of the hundreds of commentaries received by the analyst from respondent patient groups describe pharma companies’ ESG activities as currently relevant to patients, and more a way for the industry to attract ethical investment. Other respondent patient groups acknowledge the potential of ESG to support companies’ efforts at building more patient-centric measures of company performance. Such a patient-centric approach could boost a company’s corporate reputation- and perhaps even encourage more growth, they say.
 
“While all companies strive for profit, I think companies that collaborate and ethically/sustainably contribute to society will be remembered as growing and successful businesses.”
- National arthritis patient group, Korea 
 
“Sustainability; ethical principles; non-political, win-win orientation in business- and, not in the least, patient centricity.”
- International blood-cancers patient group, Romania 

Patient-group involvement in defining ESG criteria and assessing company performance at ESG
Looking to the future, many patient groups would like pharma companies to improve how they involve patient communities in defining patient-relevant ESG measures. A significant number (140) of respondent patient groups offered their own criteria for pharma’s ESG targets [details provided in the ‘Pharma and ESG - the Patient Perspective’ report]. Already, too, respondent patient groups are proving capable of measuring pharma’s aptitude at ESG.

“It is important to consider the environment, social, and governance of a pharmaceutical company, in regards to their reputation or brand, in order to evaluate if they are a good choice to work with.”
 - National skin-conditions patient group, Australia 
 
“Our organisation assesses the improvement in the provision of healthcare by pharmaceutical companies a lot. That footprint goes beyond developing medicines, vaccines, supplies, and diagnostic tests, to meeting the medical needs that are pressing in the world. A lot of companies perform this work on sustainability and responsibility, but it is not central for them. Finally, we assess the environmental impacts that the companies cause.”
- National arthritis patient group, Brazil 
 
“From an environmental perspective, our group is focused on how the company prioritizes their international efforts to work with the regions on key efforts to minimize and reduce the impacts on the environment, and public declarations of their commitment to help reduce climate change.”
- National mental-health patient group, Canada
 
How 47 pharma companies perform for ESG - from a patient perspective

Patient groups were posed two key questions about individual pharma-company performance on ESG:
1.) “If you were asked to make a definite choice: Which three companies were ‘best’ in 2021 at... Adopting an ‘Environmental, Social, and Governance’ (ESG) agenda - from the perspective of the patients known to your organisation?”
2.) “If you were asked to make a definite choice: Which three companies were ‘best’ in 2021 at... Communicating their performance at ‘Environmental,  Social, and Governance’ (ESG) to patient groups?”

Who Should Read this Report? 

Customer Types (Organisations)

• Pharma companies
• Biopharma companies
  • Regulatory authorities (e.g EMA, FDA) 
  • NGOs and health charities (usually FOC) including Patient Groups
  • Research and academia

Job Titles/Functions for Pharma and Biopharma Organisations

Core: 

• Patient Relations
• Corporate Reputation
• Public Affairs
• Professional Affairs
• Patient Advocacy
• Communications
• Market Research

Secondary: 

• R&D
• Health economics
• Outcomes Research
• Medical Affairs
• Marketing
• Brand teams
• Market Access 
• Regulatory