Design of greener drugs: aligning parameters in pharmaceutical R&D and drivers for environmental impact.

Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in the environment, primarily resulting from patient excretion, are of concern because of potential risks to wildlife. This has led to more restrictive regulatory policies. Here, we discuss the 'benign-by-design' approach, which encourages the development of environmentally friendly APIs that are also safe and efficacious for patients.

How data on transformation products can support the redesign of sulfonamides towards better biodegradability in the environment.

Sulfonamide antibiotics (SUAs) released into the environment can affect environmental und human health, e.g., by accelerating the development and selection of antimicrobial resistant bacteria.

Designing greener active pharmaceutical ingredients: Insights from pharmaceutical industry into drug discovery and development.

Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), their metabolites and transformation products (TPs) are found as pollutants in the environment. They can impact human and environmental health. To address this issue, an efficient, long-term prevention strategy could be the design of APIs that have less impact on the natural environment, i.

GREENER Pharmaceuticals for More Sustainable Healthcare.

Medicines are essential to human health but can also impact the aquatic and terrestrial environment after use by patients and release via excreta into wastewater. We highlight the need for a GREENER approach to identify and meet important environmental criteria, which will help reduce the impact of medicinal residues on the environment. These criteria include effect reduction by avoiding nontarget effects or undesirable moieties, exposure reduction via lower emissions or environmental (bio)degradability, no PBT (persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic) substances, and risk mitigation.

Transformation products of sulfonamides in aquatic systems: Lessons learned from available environmental fate and behaviour data.

Sulfonamides (SUAs) and their transformation products (TPs) contribute to environmental pollution. Importance of research on TPs' properties has been emphasised, e.g.