We are delighted to announce that the 6th International Conference on Risk Assessment of Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (ICRAPHE), being held in Aveiro, Portugal, from October 20 – 21 2025, will this year feature a special conference session dedicated to results emerging from the ETERNAL project.

Entitled ‘Risk Assessment for Impact Reduction across the Pharmaceuticals Life Cycle’ the session will consist of four complementary presentations exemplifying how various forms of environmental risk and hazard assessment and predictive modelling can be applied to inform thinking and formulation of policy, regulatory and innovation responses to the need for sustainable future pharma in the European Union.

Taking account of performance/safety and environmentally motivated innovation

Following a short introduction and overview of the ETERNAL project by Chiara Ilgrande, from project coordinator AIMPLAS, Technological Institute of Plastics, Paterna, Spain, the heart of the session will be driven by presentations from  Carolina Machado, from CESAM / Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, and Hongyan Chen, from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

The first of these will illustrate how hazard assessments can take account of both performance/safety and environmentally motivated innovation in pharmaceuticals. It will describe the results of an evaluation of the effects of a novel liposomal encapsulation of diclofenac using from a battery of ecotoxicological assays. The study considers effects relative to a commercial diclofenac solution-based product, before and after enzymatic treatment, and the impact of production (diafiltration) waste.

The second will show how  modelling pharmaceutical emissions is being used to address the limitations of current environmental monitoring to help address concerns about releases into the environment and potential impacts on wildlife and human health. An emissions model for selected priority active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) has been developed based on General Practitioners’ prescription data from the UK National Health Service (NHS). Regional time series of per capita usage and emissions to, and transfer rates from, wastewater treatment plants have been derived. The estimated emissions thus calculated have been verified against measured API concentrations in treatment plant influents and effluents.

Example time series of estimated monthly use per capita (of Rifaximin) for different regions in the UK and waste water tretament plant emissions (for Amitriptyline) in 2024.

Safe and Sustainable by Design from the outset

Finally, Robert Peeling, from Britest, UK will advocate for an early focus upon sustainability criteria in the design and development of new pharmaceutical products and processes as a vital enabler of Safe and Sustainable by Design Pharmaceuticals (SSbD). His presentation will outline a simple yet comprehensive assessment methodology, specifically designed for the early stages of a project, when information is often incomplete and uncertain. The methodology is designed to aid rational choices between different process development options based upon process safety, environmental, economic and social sustainability impacts, energy efficiency, and mass intensity, and is currently being used as the basis for development of a CEN (European Committee for Standardization) Workshop Agreement (CWA).

Overview of Methodology for Early-Stage Sustainability Assessment for Chemical and Biochemical Manufacturing Processes

We warmly encourage you to join us in Aveiro to explore all these matters and the broader conference agenda!

Vist the 6th ICRAPHE website - register now!