(194e) Sustainability and Life Cycle Principles in Practice: Glaxosmithkline's Experiences with Flasc Tm (Fast Life Cycle Assessment of Synthetic Chemistry)

Assessment of progress towards more sustainable practices in the Pharmaceutical industry calls for a simple methodology that may be used to determine and benchmark the degree of ‘greenness' of synthetic processes for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) using the life cycle approach. Having a simple, easy to calculate metric is particularly important at an early stage in R&D development, when route and processes are being selected and detailed environmental data are not available.

FLASC^TM (Fast LifeCycle Assessment of Synthetic Chemistry) is a web-based tool and methodology developed by and for GlaxoSmithKline to deliver a rapid, simple assessment of processes. FLASC^TM was derived from a detailed assessment of the cradle-to-gate Life Cycle environmental impacts associated with the manufacture of materials used in a typical pharmaceutical process. FLASC^TM provides a quick, streamlined life cycle impact assessment of the materials used in chemical synthetic routes, while also providing benchmarking information and some guidance.

This presentation will describe GlaxoSmithKline's experiences to date in routinely assessing the streamlined life cycle impacts of its development routes within the R&D process at different development milestones.