Fimea published its sustainability report for 2023, aims for a sustainable future

The Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea’s sustainability report for 2023 has been published. 

Sustainability is part of Fimea's operations in a rapidly changing operating environment, and we now take sustainability aspects into consideration more actively in our operations than previously. The sustainability report describes concrete actions and the objectives of Fimea's work for sustainability and responsibility. As part of the entire central government, Fimea strives to ensure that society develops in a sustainable manner by following the UN 2030 Agenda. 

The report examines operations through Fimea's sustainability policies, which are:

• Promoting access to medicines and medical products
• Ensuring safe medicinal treatment of production animals, environmental protection, and reduction of national drug wastage 
• Supporting innovation and developing infrastructure
• Ensuring the safety of medicines and medicinal products and production of reliable medicines information

“The year 2023 was turbulent in many ways around the world. Finland’s new government was appointed in June. The entries in the new Government Programme support Fimea's responsibilities well and further confirm that our choice of sustainability policies was right,” says Eija Pelkonen, Director General.

Ensuring the availability of medicines and medical products is one of Fimea's most important tasks. 

“The development of new pharmacotherapies is rapid, and Fimea's experts contribute to getting them placed on the market. It is also clear that the use of artificial intelligence has taken a big leap forward and that we must keep up with the development,” Pelkonen sums up recent phenomena.

The fight against antibiotic resistance also continued during the year. The excessive use and misuse of antimicrobials (antibiotics) in both humans and animals increases the risk of developing antimicrobial resistance and poses a threat to human and animal health worldwide. 

"Fimea has also played a key role in this respect. In order to promote the preservation of the efficacy of antimicrobials, Fimea strives to safeguard the availability of old narrow-branded antimicrobials, among other measures,” Pelkonen says.

Fimea's strategy emphasises promoting the reasonable use of medicines and the safety of medication and curbing the growth of pharmaceutical costs. 

“If successful, this will also be reflected in the consumption and costs of medicines. We could save tens of millions of euros each year in the cost of medicines, if cheaper interchangeable products were used,” Pelkonen points out.

According to a media barometer commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Fimea's reputation is at a higher level than ever before. According to the study, Fimea acts "correctly and responsibly – taking both society and the environment into consideration". Fimea will continue to promote sustainability and responsibility in the pharmaceutical sector. The goal is a sustainable future.

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Fimea Sustainability Report 2023