24/7 BIOPHARMA - issue 1 / October 2024

NEWS

Sharp joins the United Nations Global Compact

Sharp - a leader in pharmaceutical contract packaging, clinical trial supply services and small-scale sterile manufacturing - announced that it has joined the United Nations Global Compact initiative — a voluntary initiative for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible business practices. With this announcement, Sharp is proud to join hundreds of other companies globally in the pharmaceutical sector who have committed to taking responsible business action to help create a better world for everyone. Speaking about the announcement, Kevin Orfan, Sharp’s President & CEO said “Sharp’s membership of the UN Global Compact is clear evidence of our commitment to responsible corporate governance and demonstrates our intention to put our stakeholders’ interests’ at the heart of our decision making” The UN Global Compact is a call to

companies to align their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and to act in support of Sustainable Development Goals. Sharp will focus initially on actions that align with stakeholder priorities, as identified through a double materiality process conducted earlier this year. Those areas include sustainable procurement, environmental sustainability, labor and human rights and anti-corruption, providing a natural alignment with the 10 Principles of the UN Global Compact. “This is a further milestone in our development as a sustainable organisation”, commented Hywel Woolf, Global Sustainability Manager at Sharp. “The UN Global Compact is a global framework for action that brings structure and transparency to sustainability, that will help us feet, it will feature eight production trains with an output of tens of metric tons annually. This investment also includes state-of-the-art peptide R&D facilities, CGMP kilo labs, and CGMP pilot plant for peptide manufacturing. These resources can support early-stage clinical and commercial production with great flexibility. Lastly, the investment also includes building the shell for a sixth manufacturing plant, which will allow a quick expansion of capacity in the future. “This expansion is a testament to our unwavering dedication to serving the evolving needs of the life sciences industry,” said Joerg Ahlgrimm, CEO

to progress and report on our environmental, social and governance ambitions. The requirement to Communicate on Progress provides Sharp with the framework to align our own ESG strategy whilst continuing our transparent progression as a sustainable organisation.” Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world, with more than 20,000 companies based in over 160 countries, and more than 60 Global Compact Networks. As a member of the UN Global Compact, Sharp has committed to providing regular updates on its progress through the publication of a Communication of Progress (COP) report which will be published annually.

SK pharmteco invests $260 million to expand global small molecule and peptide production

of SK pharmteco. “By investing in this new facility, we’re increasing our capacity in Asia in line with our global expansion strategy and solidifying our position as a trusted partner for companies developing groundbreaking treatments, demonstrating our adaptability and reliability in a rapidly changing industry.” SK pharmteco plans to hire over 300 new employees at the Sejong site to support this expansion. This investment underscores SK pharmteco’s commitment to meeting the growing demand for high-quality peptides and small molecules, essential components of many innovative therapies,

SK pharmteco, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), today announced a major expansion of its small molecule and peptide production capabilities with a $260 million investment to construct a new state-of-the-art facility in Sejong, South Korea. Scheduled to begin operations in late 2026, the new facility will be the fifth plant the company opens in South Korea and will be a cornerstone of SK pharmteco’s global manufacturing network. Spanning 135,800 square

Issue 1 / October 2024 75

TWENTYFOURSEVENBIOPHARMA