“The connection between human and environmental health has never been clearer or more dramatic,” says BIO’s Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath on today’s episode of the I AM BIO Podcast. She speaks with a biotech leader about the industry’s vital role in creating a more equitable and sustainable future—which includes clean air, racial justice, and ensuring the most vulnerable populations can access the science.
“We are increasingly in the business of promoting health, not just curing disease,” says Chirfi Guindo, EVP and Head of Global Product Strategy and Commercialization at Biogen, which develops innovative therapies for neurological diseases.
In 2014, Biogen became the first life sciences company to go carbon neutral—and this year, they announced a 20-year, $250-million initiative to eliminate fossil fuels across their operations by 2040 and collaborate with Harvard and MIT to advance research into the environmental and health impacts of climate change and improve health outcomes, especially for underserved communities.
Why does a drug company focused on neurological disease care about climate change?Air pollution is linked to 24% of stroke-related deaths and is a risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s, Guindo explains.
Biogen believes “health equity starts with clinical trials,” which requires “listening to community, listening to experts, trying to figure out where the barriers are—so trust is core to all of that.”
“But beyond trust, what we're hearing from the community is we have to be intentional,” he continues. “We have to have talent come from those communities.” Biogen has partnered with HBCUs and local communities to get Black, African American, Latinx, and immigrant students interested in neuroscience, and is setting aggressive hiring goals and metrics.
Why it matters: “You have to do the right thing for patients, and if you want to serve patients, you need to make sure that you have teams that reflect the full spectrum of the patient population that we serve. It’s that simple,” says Guindo.
Why it matters right now: “As we reinvest to get the economy going again, as we continue to invest to discover new drugs against Alzheimer's—which is a core area for us at Biogen—Parkinson’s disease or Lou Gehrig’s disease, all these diseases where there’s a huge unmet need, we have the opportunity to do it in ways that promote fossil-fuel-free goals and create that green movement,” he concludes. “This is the silver lining as I see it.”
Listen at www.bio.org/podcast or your favorite podcast platform, including Apple, Google, or Spotify.
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