Turning medicines greener to reduce environmental harm
The flow of medicines into our shared waterways is raising concerns about the environment and potentially human health. Pharmaceuticals and their active metabolites are emerging as a new form of environmental toxicants and, while direct risks to human health are thought to be low, there are broader concerns related to long-term exposure and environmental harm. “Pharmaceutical residues are increasingly detected in surface waters, mainly as a result of their use and disposal, including releases through wastewater systems and other diffuse sources,” explains Stephanos Camarinopoulos, director at RISA(opens in new window) in Berlin. Researchers in the EU-funded ENVIROMED(opens in new window) project worked to shed light on the environmental impact of pharmaceutical compounds in our waterways from design to disposal, through a combination of fieldwork with advanced monitoring and prediction technologies. “By combining field monitoring, advanced analytical tools, predictive modelling approaches and ecotoxicity studies, ENVIROMED generated a more comprehensive picture of the environmental occurrence, behaviour and potential effects of pharmaceutical residues in wastewater systems and receiving waters,” adds Camarinopoulos.
Field monitoring campaigns and digital predictions
Camarinopoulos and his colleagues carried out a series of field monitoring campaigns at different points of the wastewater system, including upstream emission sources such as a clinical facility and a wastewater treatment plant, and downstream end points. Lab-based chemical analyses were supported by a new analytical tool, the Wastewater Spectroscopic Analyser, a field-deployable system designed to provide faster and more frequent measurements directly within wastewater systems. Through in vivo and in vitro ecotoxicological studies, the team also investigated the potential biological effects associated with exposure to pharmaceutical residues. In parallel, ENVIROMED also developed G.AI.A(opens in new window), a digital platform that provides predictive information on the ecotoxicity and bioaccumulation potential of pharmaceutical compounds. This platform supports greener drug development at the design stage, by providing early insights into the environmental properties of drug molecules. The project also developed a range of other analytical technologies to support cleaner and more resource-efficient manufacturing processes for drugs, including tools for monitoring cleaning processes and equipment surfaces, and used ‘digital twins’ to simulate and optimise drug production systems.
Determining contamination pathways
The monitoring campaigns confirmed that contamination pathways can extend from upstream sources, such as clinical facilities, through wastewater treatment plants and ultimately to marine environments. Some pharmaceutical residues can also persist through conventional wastewater treatment processes and continue to be detected in treated effluents and receiving waters. The ecotoxicological studies indicated that pharmaceutical residues may induce biologically relevant effects even at low concentrations under chronic and mixed exposure scenarios. “These findings highlight the importance of combining chemical monitoring with biological assessment tools to better understand the ecological relevance of pharmaceutical pollution,” says Camarinopoulos.
Towards greener pharmaceutical design
The findings and tools from ENVIROMED help reduce the potential environmental footprint of pharmaceuticals before they reach the environment. Several research and innovation activities initiated within the project are expected to continue, including further development of the analytical technologies. “More broadly, the project has established collaborations between researchers, industry partners and environmental stakeholders that are expected to continue beyond the project,” notes Camarinopoulos. “These collaborations can help advance research on sustainable pharmaceutical production, improved environmental monitoring strategies, and the development of medicines with a lower environmental footprint.”
