HCWH Europe has today released a new animated video to explore the environmental impact of pharmaceutical manufacturing pollution during World Antibiotic Awareness Week 18-24 November 2019.

A follow-up to our first Safer Pharma video in 2017, which gave an overview on pharmaceuticals entering the environment throughout their life cycle, this new video takes a closer look at manufacturing as a source of pharmaceutical pollution, which can biologically damage wildlife and the environment.

China and India, particularly, have been at the centre of environmental pollution scandals due to weak oversight and regulation. This is worrying as these two countries are large manufacturers of antibiotic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), the biologically active substance in antibiotics.

When discharged into the environment during manufacturing, antibiotic APIs can contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance, which already causes the death of 700,000 people worldwide every year. If not effective action is undertaken, this global death rate could rise to 10 million annually by 2050.

Watch the video to learn more about how pharmaceutical ingredients affect the environment and the far-reaching consequences for human and animal health.