pLOG

2025-03-12

"How the Pharmaceutical Industry Responds to Patients' ESG Concerns: Patient Perspectives and Corporate Actions"

As ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) issues gain increasing importance in the global pharmaceutical industry, patient groups are becoming more attentive to the ESG performance of pharmaceutical companies. On one hand, the European Union will implement the "Double Materiality Assessment" (DMA) starting in 2025, requiring companies to assess and report the impact of their ESG activities on stakeholders, including patients. On the other hand, patient organizations have also begun actively evaluating pharmaceutical companies' ESG practices, which not only affect corporate reputation but also influence patient trust and willingness to collaborate with pharmaceutical enterprises.

How Patient Groups Evaluate Pharmaceutical Companies' ESG Performance

A recent survey by PatientView, a research institution focused on patient perspectives, shows that patient groups are increasingly interested in ESG issues and are publicly sharing their assessments of pharmaceutical companies. In its 2023/24 survey, PatientView collected responses from 701 patient groups across 201 disease areas in 74 countries. The findings indicate that the vast majority of patient groups consider all three ESG components—Environment (E), Social (S), and Governance (G)—important. However, social (S) and governance (G) issues received the highest attention: 94% of patient groups stated that social impact performance is "important" to them, and 88% emphasized the importance of corporate governance standards, while environmental performance ranked slightly lower at 67%. This reflects patient expectations for pharmaceutical companies to demonstrate strong performance in social responsibility and ethical governance.

ESG performance plays a crucial role in patient groups' decisions to collaborate with pharmaceutical companies. More than half of the patient groups stated that they "often" or "sometimes" consider a company's ESG performance when deciding whether to establish a partnership. Specifically, around 83% of patient groups in the PatientView survey frequently or occasionally take a company's efforts in addressing social issues into account.

However, due to the recent "anti-ESG" sentiment in the U.S., American patient groups have shown relatively lower engagement in such ESG assessments, with response rates below PatientView's average for the U.S. in other studies. Nevertheless, on a global scale, patient perspectives have become a significant force in evaluating pharmaceutical companies' ESG performance. Notably, PatientView's assessment of 15 major pharmaceutical companies with clear ESG agendas ranked Roche and Gilead Sciences as top performers in ESG from the patient perspective. This suggests that some companies' ESG efforts have been highly recognized by the patient community, giving them a reputational advantage over their peers.

 

Pharmaceutical Companies and Patient Groups: From Treatment to ESG Partnerships

 

Although pharmaceutical companies have significantly increased their ESG investments in recent years, many interactions between companies and patient groups still center around treatments and medicines. Traditionally, pharmaceutical companies collaborated with patient organizations mainly by providing drug support, disease education, or charitable donations—areas directly related to their products. However, patient expectations have expanded beyond the products themselves. The PatientView survey revealed that patient organizations widely believe pharmaceutical companies should take on a broader role, such as improving patients' access to healthcare, enhancing the quality of services, and actively working to eliminate health disparities. These demands align closely with the social responsibility goals within ESG and reflect patients' expectations for pharmaceutical companies to take concrete ESG actions.

In other words, effective ESG strategies can serve as a new opportunity to strengthen patient trust. By collaborating more closely with patient groups under an ESG framework, pharmaceutical companies can demonstrate their commitment to patient needs and values, thereby fostering stronger trust. An analysis of patient group opinions conducted by PatientView highlighted two key areas for improvement in pharmaceutical companies' ESG engagement:

Building Stronger Partnerships (43%): This includes establishing and maintaining long-term relationships with patient groups, deepening connections, and co-designing ESG-related initiatives. This suggests that patient groups want to be partners in companies' ESG strategies rather than passive participants.

Demonstrating Concrete Actions and Clear Communication (54%): Patient organizations urge pharmaceutical companies to take tangible actions to fulfill their ESG commitments (e.g., addressing specific social or health issues) and to communicate these efforts clearly and in a patient-friendly manner. Moreover, a focus on improving treatment and care quality is also part of their expectations. Patient groups believe that only visible actions and results can enhance their trust in pharmaceutical companies.

 

The EU DMA and Global ESG Trends: New Challenges for the Pharmaceutical Industry

 

On the policy front, the EU's "Double Materiality Assessment" (DMA) is setting new ESG compliance standards for the pharmaceutical industry. DMA is a core principle of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), requiring companies to consider both "financial materiality" and "impact materiality" when disclosing sustainability information starting in 2025. This means that pharmaceutical companies must assess both the impact of ESG issues on their financial performance and the impact of their business on the environment and society (including patient communities), considering both as crucial reporting elements.

In the past, companies primarily focused on how ESG-related risks and opportunities affected their own operations (single materiality). However, they now must also report on how their activities impact external stakeholders. For the pharmaceutical industry, this change highlights the importance of patient perspectives: from product development and pricing policies to corporate philanthropy, the extent to which these actions genuinely improve patient and community well-being will become a key evaluation factor.

The implementation of the EU DMA is seen as an indicator of global ESG governance trends. In addition to the EU, countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and the UK are also expected to adopt similar mandatory ESG reporting and double materiality requirements. This means that companies operating in major global markets will face stricter ESG disclosure and scrutiny. Given the international nature of the pharmaceutical industry—where large companies often operate across Europe, North America, and Asia—it is crucial to prepare in advance by establishing mechanisms and data collection processes for double materiality assessments to comply with new regulations worldwide.

 

Conclusion: From Reputation to Competitiveness—ESG as a Key to Patient Trust

 

As patients' concerns about ESG continue to grow, the pharmaceutical industry is adjusting its strategies to respond more actively and transparently. The PatientView survey and its toolkit reveal that patient groups are willing to assess pharmaceutical companies based on ESG performance and incorporate these assessments into collaboration decisions. For companies, this presents both challenges and opportunities—by integrating ESG strategies with patient engagement, they can build stronger trust, enhance their reputation, and maintain a competitive edge.

Moreover, regulatory developments such as the EU DMA are making patient impact a key element of corporate sustainability reporting, further driving the industry to embed patient perspectives into ESG strategies. As a result, pharmaceutical companies that proactively align their ESG initiatives with patient needs and expectations will likely emerge as leaders in the evolving landscape of corporate sustainability.


References


  1. PatientView, Press Release: "Pharmaceutical Companies, ESG, and Patient Groups" Toolkit, February 2025.
  2. PatientView, "Pharma and ESG: The Patient Perspective 2024" Survey Results, February 2025.
  3. PatientView, "Pharma and ESG: The Patient Perspective 2024" Company Ranking Summary, February 2025.
  4. Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, "EU Adopts Long-Awaited Mandatory ESG Reporting Standards.
  5. PatientView Official Website, "Executives’ Views on Patient Perspectives.PatientView | Patient Focused Research, Publishing & Consultancy"