Operating day to day
These three areas are about running a responsible business on a day-to-day basis and the way we manage our relationships with partners and suppliers.
We are committed to operating a sustainable organization that protects and respects our employees, the environment and the communities where we conduct our activities. Exceptional environmental management is key in achieving excellent company performance and making Shire a world-class organization.
Stewardship of partners and suppliers
Our business model is based on out-sourcing a number of our activities, including much of our distribution as well as the manufacturing for Specialty Pharmaceuticals. It has been a very successful model, but we accept that it brings significant extra responsibilities.
Regulatory authorities around the world require pharmaceutical companies to test all new drugs before they’re launched, and there is currently no alternative to including some animal testing as part of this process. It’s essential both for scientific reasons and to safeguard the volunteers and patients who take part in the trials.
One of our most important responsibilities as a specialty biopharmaceutical company is to ensure that the people affected by the conditions we treat are given the support they need, and the conditions themselves are properly understood and adequately funded. This means we actively engage with policy makers, as well as other companies and non-governmental organizations, to advocate for a policy and regulatory environment that supports innovation and value that will benefit patients, healthcare systems and society. This includes working to improve access to medicines, awareness and understanding of the sometimes complex or misunderstood conditions our products treat, and supporting investment in and advancement of new medical breakthroughs. We also engage in discussions pertaining to pricing and reimbursement, patient data and information, and diagnosis and detection.
We work in a business where patients’ lives are at stake, so we seek to apply the highest ethical standards in all we do. This is core to our ‘Brave’ values and culture. It means ensuring that we have the right policies and procedures in place, and also making sure that our managers understand how to foster an ethical, responsible culture. Our Code of Ethics, adopted by our Board of Directors, summarizes the standards and expectations that guide our actions. This code is compulsory reading for all employees, and we expect full compliance with its principles and spirit.
