A special conference session entitled ‘Risk Assessment for Impact Reduction across the Pharmaceuticals Life Cycle’ dedicated to results emerging from the ETERNAL project.was a highlight of the 6th International Conference on Risk Assessment of Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (ICRAPHE), held in Aveiro, Portugal, from October 20 – 21 2025.

The conference brought together 90 participants from 15 countries to discuss research on pharmaceuticals in the environment. Other highlights included presentations, prozegivings (the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water), and discussions on topics inlcuding detection and quantification methods for pharmaceuticals, treatment and remediation strategies. the effects of pharmaceuticals on organisms and ecological risks, and environmental fate and interactions with other pollutants.

ETERNAL takes the stage

The ETERNAL special conferenc esession consisted of four complementary presentations illustrating how environmental risk and hazard assessment could be applied to develop sustainable pharmaceutical strategies in the European Union. Key themes and objectives of the project highlighted by Chiara Ilgrande, from project coordinator AIMPLAS, Technological Institute of Plastics, Paterna, Spain, included:

• Green Manufacturing: Developing and scaling up sustainable manufacturing processes.

• Digital Transformation: Using predictive modelling and digital tools to anticipate and prevent environmental problems.

• Safe Use and Disposal: Informing consumers and healthcare practitioners about safe disposal methods for unused medicines and promoting sustainable prescriptions.

• Regulatory Input: Providing recommendations for integrating the latest scientific knowledge into pharmaceutical risk assessment to fill gaps in current and proposed legislation.

Carolina Machado, from CESAM / Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, spoke about specific research findings related to environmental fate, effects on organisms, and ecological risks of pharmaceuticals, to illustrate illustrate how hazard assessments can take account of both performance/safety and environmentally motivated innovation in pharmaceuticals.. Specifically, Carolina presented 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.

Hongyan Chen, from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. presented an emissions model for selected priority active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) which 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.

The final presentation, from Robert Peeling, of UK-based process-understanding and sustainability consultancy Britest, argued 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). It provided an outline of 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).

The special conference session provided a valuable mean sof sharing knowledge and results from ETERNAL with, and gaining insight from, other researchers in the the field. Special thanks are due to the local hosts and organisers from the University of Aveiro, Professor Susana Loureiro and Dr. Maria Pavlaki.