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MCF classifier: Estimating, standardizing, and stratifying medicine carbon footprints, at scale
Haroon Taylor1, Shazia Mahamdallie1, Matthew Sawyer2
1YewMaker, London, UK.
British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
|September 16, 2024
Summary
A new classifier estimates medicine carbon footprints, revealing significant emissions from common drugs. Reducing antibiotic prescriptions could substantially cut healthcare
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Pharmaceutical Science
- Public Health
Background:
- Healthcare contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions.
- Limited product-level data on medicine carbon footprints hinders effective mitigation strategies.
- The pharmaceutical industry faces increasing pressure to align with net-zero commitments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and implement the Medicine Carbon Footprint (MCF) Classifier for estimating, standardizing, stratifying, and visualizing medicine carbon footprints.
- To provide accessible product-level carbon footprint data for pharmaceutical products.
- To identify high-impact areas for emission reduction within medicine usage.
Main Methods:
- Utilized molecular weight and chemical structure to calculate process mass intensity and global warming potential for active pharmaceutical ingredients in small molecule medicines.
- Estimated medicine carbon footprints per dose and assigned MCF Ratings.
- Developed the searchable MCF Formulary web application for data accessibility.
- Conducted validation, comparison, and sensitivity analyses for rating accuracy.
- Performed stratification analyses by therapeutic indication.
Main Results:
- Generated standardized carbon footprints for 2214 pharmaceutical products, with ratings distributed as 38% LOW, 35% MEDIUM, 25% HIGH, and 2% VERY HIGH.
- The analyzed products accounted for 2.2 billion NHS England prescribed doses in January 2023, with a total carbon footprint of 140,000 tonnes CO2e.
- Three specific antibiotics (amoxicillin, flucloxacillin, penicillin V) were responsible for 15% of the total emissions.
- A 20% reduction in antibiotic prescriptions could yield monthly savings of 4,200 tonnes CO2e.
Conclusions:
- Standardized medicine carbon footprint data is valuable for assessing and mitigating pharmaceutical emissions.
- The MCF Classifier and Formulary can inform interventions to align healthcare practices with net-zero goals.
- Targeted reductions, particularly in antibiotic prescribing, offer significant environmental benefits.
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