This year has been a good one for development-services providers, especially those that support late development (i.e., Phase II–III). CMOs and CDMOs report strong demand for late-stage clinical-trial materials and clinical-development services, and our PharmSource surveys indicate that the industry could experience growth of 5–10% this year. 

The buoyant conditions for late-development services may not last much longer, however, as there is growing evidence that discovery and early- development activity may be declining. CROs offering preclinical-development services, such as animal toxicology testing, have reported soft market conditions and weak revenues throughout the year. CMOs specializing in process development for small-molecule APIs note that demand for process development and early-stage clinical supplies remains weak even as late-development demand has been strong. This situation is a big concern for late-development services, of course, because a weak early-development pipeline means fewer Phase II and Phase III candidates in coming years.  

Much of the blame for this state of affairs can be placed on the highly uncertain and volatile global financial environment. Investors remain risk-averse and are less likely to embrace investments that require long gestation periods and have a low probability of positive outcomes. Late-stage development candidates have a greater probability of success than candidates in discovery or early development and are closer to a payoff in the form of licensing or outright sale to a global bio/pharmaceutical company.  

This state of affairs is reflected in venture-capital activity in the bio/pharmaceutical industry. According to US data provided by the National Venture Capital Association, the number of venture-capital investments in the bio/pharmaceutical sector is down 15% through the first nine months of 2011 compared with venture-capital investments in 2010. The actual dollar value of investments is up, but that is because of some large deals that supported companies with strong late-development prospects, such as the $300 million raised by Reata Pharmaceuticals from a single investor. Venture-capital support is crucial to early-stage companies, and the decline in funding is a clear warning sign for the industry. 

The European financial crisis is another cloud on the bio/pharmaceutical R&D horizon. As part of austerity measures required to get their sovereign debt situation under control, many European governments are slashing expenditures on drugs. In countries such as Greece and Spain, governments have cut the prices they will pay for drugs by as much as 25% or more and are forcing a conversion to generic drugs from branded drugs. (The southern-tier countries that have the greatest debt problems have lower generic-drug penetration than northern European countries).  

According to a report by the investment firm Jefferies and Company, the top-line squeeze is likely to force small and mid-size companies in Europe to cut their R&D expenditures as part of overall cost-cutting measures. A recent article in the 

 cites Spain's Almirall and Greece's Alapis as mid-size companies that are facing R&D cuts as revenues fall (1).  

If European revenues are severely affected, even the global bio/pharmaceutical companies could end up reducing their R&D spending in Europe. Although those companies try to maintain global R&D networks to tap into the broadest array of opportunities, their R&D activities have typically been matched to the regions with the greatest revenue and profit potential. Over the past 10-plus years, the locus has been in North America, where the high prices and margins in the US market have funded most of the R&D budgets at global bio/pharmaceutical companies. More recently, the focus has been shifting to the high-growth emerging markets. Even though some of the largest global bio/pharmaceutical companies are headquartered in Europe, continuing sales and profit pressures could force them to move more R&D activity to other locales. 

The global financial outlook is not likely to improve in the foreseeable future. The outlook in Europe remains highly uncertain, with further cuts in government expenditures likely and the survival of the euro zone at risk. Deep budget cuts are coming in the United States, where the aging population and the need to cut budget deficits will put severe pressure on Medicare, the large government-sponsored healthcare program. 

These macro environmental challenges and uncertainties compound the bio/pharmaceutical industry's internal challenges, most notably the decline in revenues resulting from patent expiries. Under these circumstances, the outlook for bio/pharmaceutical R&D spending would seem to indicate  little or no growth in coming years.  

The difficult R&D environment will have a mixed impact on the bio/pharmaceutical services industry. Bio/pharmaceutical company efforts to control R&D costs have helped the contract-services industry, and the penetration of outsourcing is likely to grow, especially in the nonclinical-development segment. However, those benefits will not be equally shared among all industry participants. Thanks largely to the efforts of the global bio/pharmaceutical companies to reduce the number of vendors they work with, a select number of preferred providers is benefiting disproportionately from the outsourcing trend. The clinical-development services segment has already consolidated into a handful of major CROs with large market shares, and we are seeing evidence of a similar consolidation in the nonclinical-development segment although the pace is slower. CROs and CDMOs that don't achieve preferred-provider status will be left to fight over limited opportunities among small- and mid-size bio/pharmaceutical companies. 

The pharmaceutical services industry has traditionally risen and fallen with the R&D spending tide. When the tide has been high, most of the companies in the industry have prospered, but when the tide has gone out, all the participants have suffered more or less equally. If we are going into another period of industry weakness, the pain is not so likely to be shared this time around. 

 is president of PharmSource Information Services, Inc., and publisher of 

 1. J. Whalen, "Europe's Smaller Drug Firms Feeling Pain," 

Articles

Outsourcing

A dearth of late-stage candidates could hurt the pharmaceutical services market in the future.

Troublesome Signs for Bio/Pharmaceutical R&D

Moderate growth is expected for the global market for APIs. The generic API market is stronger as recent and projected growth rates are expected to outpace growth of innovator/branded APIs. India, China, and Italy will continue to be major suppliers of APIs to the global market, with India suppliers expected to see strong growth during the next five years. 

The global market for APIs for human use was valued at $101 billion in 2010, according to data from the Italian Chemical Pharmaceutical Generic Association (CPA) in its recent report, “Competition in the World API Market. “ Of the total market value, the captive market (i.e., APIs produced within pharmaceutical companies themselves for their own needs) accounted for 61.4% of the total API market, or $62 billion, in 2010. The merchant market for APIs (i.e., APIs sold by third parties) accounted for the remaining 38.6%, or $39 billion, according to CPA. For purposes of this market, “API” refers to the active pharmaceutical ingredient and advanced intermediates (i.e., intermediates requiring GMP compliance). 

The global API merchant market is almost evenly divided between APIs supplied to the generic-drug market and APIs supplied to the innovator-drug market. Of the global merchant market for APIs, generic APIs accounted for approximately 48.7%, or $19 billion, and branded (i.e., innovator) APIs accounted for the remaining 51.3%, or $20 billion,in 2010, according to CPA. Of the global generic API market of $19 billion, Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest share at 37.5%, the United States, the second largest share at 21.2%, and Western Europe for 16.8%. As of 2010, China had become the largest single market for generic APIs, accounting for 21.3% of the world market or $4.05 billion, which surpassed the US market for generic APIs, which is valued at $4.03 billion, according to CPA. In Western Europe, the largest markets for generic APIs are Germany and the United Kingdom. In Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Russia is the largest single market, accounting for 45.8% of this region’s generic API market. 

The world merchant API market as a whole, both generic and branded/innovator APIs, is projected to increase at an average rate of 5.1% during the next five years to reach $50 billion by 2015, up from $39 billion in 2010, according to CPA. The demand for generic APIs, however, will outpace growth for branded/innovator APIs. The merchant market for generic APIs is projected to increase at an annual rate of 7.3% to reach $27 billion by 2015. The merchant market for branded/innovator APIs is forecast to increase at the annual rate of only 2.8% to reach $23 billion by 2015, according to CPA. This differential in growth rates will cause the share for generic APIs in the merchant market to increase from 49.7% in 2010 to 54% by 2015 and for the share of innovator APIs in the merchant market to decrease from 51.3% in 2010 to 46% by 2015, according to CPA. 

The fastest growth rates for the generic API merchant market during the next five years will be in China (12.6% yearly average), Brazil (11.1% yearly average), India (10.3% yearly average), South Korea (8.3% yearly average), Russia (8.0% yearly average), and Ukraine (6.1% yearly average). Other smaller emerging markets that are set to rise above the world average during the next several years are Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Pakistan, Chile, Colombia, and Peru, according to CPA. 

Italy is the largest generic API producer in Western Europe followed by Spain. Historically, Italy had been the largest generic API producer globally before the rise of China and India in the global API market. Italy, however, still holds a prominent position in the global API market. The market share held by Italian fine-chemical companies/API manufacturers in the global API merchant market (generic and innovator APIs) has remained stable during the past five years: 10.4% in 2010 and 10.3% in 2005, according to CPA. Italy’s share of the global generic API merchant market has decreased from 18.1% in 2005 to 16.3% in 2010. 

Italy’s share in the Western European market has increased. The market share held by Italian fine-chemical companies/API manufacturers in the Western European generic API merchant market has risen from 29.6% in 2005 to 31.5% in 2010, according to CPA. The percentage share of Italian fine-chemical companies/API manufacturers for the US generic API merchant market also has risen: from 25.1% in 2005 to 30.8% in 2010, according to CPA. Overall, Italy’s share in the world API merchant  market is expected to remain stable during the next five years at approximately 10%, but its share in the global generic API merchant market is expected to decrease to 14.7% by 2015 from 16.3% in 2010, according to CPA. 

The market share held by Spanish API manufactures in the global API merchant market (generic APIs and branded/innovator APIs) was 3.2% in 2010. The country’s share in the world generic API merchant market was 5.5% in 2010, according to CPA. 

The market share held by Indian API manufacturers in the global API merchant market (generic APIs and branded/innovator APIs) was 6.5% in 2005, 12.0% in 2010, and is expected to increase to 22.0% by 2015, according to CPA. India’s share of the global generic API merchant market has increased from 13.5% in 2005 to 22.1% in 2010 and is expected to increase to 33.3% by 2015. Export sales of generic APIs from India increased at an average of 18.9% between 2005–2010 compared with an annual average of 15.9% to the country’s domestic market. 

India is expected to be the fastest growing API supplier during the next five years and will keep its position above China. The market share held by Chinese companies in the global API merchant market (generic APIs and branded/innovative APIs) has risen from 14.2% in 2005 to 19% in 2010, according to CPA. The market share held by Chinese companies in the global generic API merchant market increased from 31.1% in 2005 to 35.6% in 2010. Although China remains the largest API supplier on a global basis, growth rates from 2005–2010 of Chinese API suppliers were less than those of Indian suppliers. China’s share of the Western European generic API merchant market fell from 39.2% in 2005 to 35% in 2010. China’s share of the US generic API merchant market increased slightly from 11.5% to 12.9% in 2010, according to CPA. From 2010 through 2015, sales of Chinese API manufactures to the global API merchant market (generic and innovator APIs) are projected to increase at an annual average rate of 9.2% compared with an annual average of 18.5% for Indian API manufacturers, according to CPA. For the global generic API merchant market, sales by Chinese API manufacturers are expected to increase at a yearly rate of 8.1% compared with 16.5% for Indian API manufactures between the forecast period of 2010 to 2015, according to CPA. 

APIs

The market for contract API manufacturing and fine chemicals is forecast to be fairly strong, and growth for generic APIs is expected to outpace growth for innovator APIs.

API Market Outlook

Vaccines represent an important way to reduce disease burden in the developing world and are part of many global health initiatives. Public–private sector collaborations, in particular, are an important tool and have been the recent focus of renewed commitments by pharmaceutical companies. 


 In December 2011, Pfizer reported that it has entered into a second supply agreement that will broaden and extend its participation in supplying vaccines for pneumococcal disease to children and infants in the developing world. Pfizer will supply up to a total of 480 million doses of Prevenar 13 (pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine ([13-valent, adsorbed]) through 2023, which builds on its original commitment announced in March 2010 to supply up to 300 million doses of the vaccine under the auspices of the Advance Market Commitment (AMC) for pneumococcal vaccines.

The AMC, an innovative program piloted by the GAVI Alliance, is a public–private approach to health funding designed to create a sustainable marketplace, ensure an affordable and stable supply of pneumococcal vaccines at a discounted price, and stimulate the development and expansion of manufacturing capacity for vaccines specifically for the world’s poorest countries. The agreements for supply of pneumococcal vaccines have been financed by GAVI, five donor countries (i.e., Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Russian Federation, and Norway) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Pfizer is proud to broaden and extend access to our vaccine to advance public health,” said Mark Swindell, president of vaccines at Pfizer, in a Dec. 13, 2011, company press release. “Public-private partnership programs like the AMC are vital to accelerating the availability of affordable vaccines, faster than ever before, to those children who are most vulnerable. We are proud to help protect even more children at risk for the potentially devastating consequences of pneumococcal disease, which claims more young children lives than any other vaccine-preventable disease.”

In December 2010, Pfizer’s 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was introduced into the childhood immunization program of Nicaragua, the first developing country to launch a program under the auspices of the AMC. “Prevenar 13 was introduced into the childhood immunization program of a developing country within one year of its launch in the United States and European Union, a historic precedent given the average 10–15 year lag between the introduction of newer vaccines in developed versus developing countries,” said Swindell in the release. “One year later, Prevenar 13 is now available in 14 of 16 countries that have launched pneumococcal immunization programs under the AMC. While there is much more work to be done, we are encouraged by this progress.”

To date, Prevenar 13 has been introduced into the national childhood immunization programs of the following GAVI-eligible countries: Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, the Gambia, Guyana, Honduras, Malawi, Mali, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Yemen.

 
 GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) also announced in December 2011 that it has expanded its agreement with the GAVI Alliance for vaccines for preventing pneumococcal disease. Pneumococcal disease can lead to pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis and is a leading cause of death in children under the age of five in developing countries.

Under a new agreement, GSK commits to provide an additional 180 million doses of its pneumococcal vaccine, Synflorix, to GAVI over the next 12 years to help expand immunization programmes against pneumococcal disease to 72 developing countries by 2023.The additional support builds on the 300 million doses that GSK committed to GAVI in March 2010 through the AMC. In total, up to 160 million children in developing countries could be protected with Synflorix against pneumococcal disease by 2023. The new commitment by GSK follows GAVI's recent decision to support the introduction of pneumococcal vaccination in an additional 18 countries, bringing the total number of countries currently supported by GAVI to 37 countries.

By stepping up our contribution of Synflorix to GAVI, we can help ensure there is enough pneumococcal vaccine available to meet the increasing demand across the world,” said Jean Stéphenne, chairman of GSK Biologicals, in a Dec. 16, 2011, GSK press release. “We are committed to playing our part in addressing healthcare challenges in developing countries, which includes adopting new strategies to help accelerate access to vaccines for diseases such polio, rotavirus, measles, and pneumococcal around the world. Vaccines are one the most effective ways to improve public health and the economical development of these countries. Increasing vaccination means more children will be able to live healthy lives." More than 90% of deaths due to pneumococcal disease occur in developing countries where children frequently do not have access to pneumococcal vaccination or early treatment, according to the GSK release

With its partnership with GAVI, GKS supplies more than 80% of its total vaccine volumes to developing countries. In June 2011, GSK made a new offer to supply its rotavirus vaccine, Rotarix, to GAVI at discounted prices to developed-world prices. It is estimated that more than half a million children worldwide die of rotavirus gastroenteritis each year, the equivalent of one child per minute worldwide, and it is responsible for the hospitalization of millions more. Rotavirus-related diarrhea and pneumococcal disease are two leading diseases among children in developing countries. 

GSK has committed to provide the additional 180 million doses of Synflorix to GAVI at a small cost relative to developed-world prices. Synflorix helps protect against diseases due to pneumococcus. It contains 10 serotypes, three of which, serotype 1, 5, and 14, were required to be included in the vaccine for the AMC due to the high burden of invasive diseases caused by these serotypes in the developing world, according to the GSK press release. Over the next 12 years, GSK has committed to provide 480 million doses of Synflorix. To date, more than 12 million doses have been delivered in Ethiopia and Kenya. Kenya was the first African country to include pneumococcal vaccines in its national immunization program under the AMC. Ethiopia represents to date the largest introduction of pneumococcal vaccines under the AMC, according to the GSK release. GSK has invested more than $400 million in a dedicated manufacturing plant in Singapore that will produce several hundred million doses of the vaccine annually in the coming years. Synflorix was the first pneumococcal vaccine to receive World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification" for global use, a regulatory endorsement that is a precondition for participation in the AMC, notes GSK. 


 In November 2011, responding to demand from developing countries, the GAVI Alliance reported it will take the first steps toward the introduction of human papillomavirus (HPV) and rubella vaccines in developing countries. GAVI reported that if negotiations to secure a sustainable price from manufacturers are successful and countries can demonstrate their ability to deliver the vaccines, up to two million women and girls in nine countries could be protected from cervical cancer by 2015, according to a Nov. 17, 2011, GAVI press release. 

Responding to projected demand from 30 countries and WHO recommendations, the board of the GAVI Alliance also agreed to open a funding window for vaccines against the rubella virus, which threatens pregnancies and child health. The plan is to reach 588 million children by 2015. “These two initiatives have huge potential impact for women and families in the developing world,” said Seth Berkley MD, CEO of GAVI, in the GAVI press release. GAVI supports seven other vaccines. 

The GAVI board also said it will consider funding a vaccine against Japanese encephalitis once an appropriate vaccine is prequalified by WHO. The GAVI board also said it looked forward to the development of an appropriate conjugate vaccine against typhoid. The board also reviewed progress on the roll out of pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines, approved a new supply and procurement strategy, discussed new options for results-based funding and tailored solutions for countries with large numbers of unvaccinated children.

GAVI-funded rubella vaccines will be combined for easy delivery with measles vaccines in a single measles–rubella (MR) shot, supporting the global measles immunization effort. If contracted by pregnant women, rubella can lead to multiple severe birth defects that cause lifelong disabilities. Some 90,000 birth defects occur each year in GAVI-eligible countries, equivalent to 80% of the global burden, according to the GAVI press release. 

Since GAVI began introducing support for pneumococcal vaccines in December 2010, more than three million children have been immunized, according to GAVI. Another 10 million are expected to receive the vaccine in 2012. By the end of 2012, an estimated 4.8 million additional children will have received the rotavirus vaccine, protecting them from rotavirus diarrhea, another leading cause of vaccine-preventable child mortality.

In November 2010, the GAVI Alliance Board approved a five-year;strategyto ensure the alliance delivers on its overall mission from 2011–2015. Full implementation of  four strategic goals will see GAVI immunize about 240 million children by 2015 and prevent nearly four million future deaths. This includes the roll-out of pneumooccal and rotavirus vaccines to protect against pneumonia and diarrhea, as well as sustained progress in providing the pentavalent, meningitis and yellow-fever vaccines

CSR and Sustainability Forum

The pharmaceutical majors advance vaccines for the developing world.

Pharma Companies Partner in Vaccine Development and Manufacturing

Access to capital, a burdensome and uncertain regulatory environment, and lack of innovation and productivity in R&D are the biggest threats to the biomedical industry’s growth during the next five years, according to biomedical company CEOs surveyed by the California Healthcare Institute (CHI), BayBio, and the management-consulting firm PwC US. 

CHI represents more than 275 biotechnology, medical device, diagnostics, and pharmaceutical companies, and public and private academic biomedical research organizations. BayBio is Northern California's life-science association, which supports the regional bioscience community through advocacy, enterprise support, and the enhancement of research collaboration. Its members include organizations engaged in, or supportive of R&D and commercialization of life-science technologies. CHI and BayBio worked with PwC to collect and administer data for the 2012 CHI, BayBio, PwC California Biomedical Industry Survey. The survey was conducted in November 2011 and targeted approximately 100 companies that conduct business in California in the areas of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, diagnostics or medical equipment.

Nearly three quarters (74%) of biomedical industry CEOs surveyed said their companies have had to delay a research or development project in the past year. 

Lack of funding was the top reason for project delays cited by private company CEOs, and accounted for more than one-third (40%) of delays by all public and private companies in the survey.

Eight in 10 CEOs surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that the current FDA regulatory approval process has slowed the growth of their organization. 

The CEO survey found that biomedical companies in California have sought diverse funding sources, divided almost evenly among government grants, angel investors, venture capital, licensing agreements, and partnerships. 
 “Biomedical companies have long relied on government grants and venture capital to finance innovation, but funding sources are shifting and companies will need to adapt to a new reality,” said Tracy Lefteroff, national life-sciences partner, PwC US, in a PwC US Jan. 10, 2012, press release. “While venture capitalists and angel investors will continue to be an important source of funding, it has become increasingly difficult for biomedical companies to gain access to them. Alternative sources of funding are emerging, which highlight shifting opportunities and dynamics in life sciences innovation.”


Other key findings from the survey showed:

Forty-four percent of biomedical CEOs surveyed said they will look to licensing agreements and corporate partnerships as a source of finance in the next 12 months, double the number of CEOs who last year said their companies are using this avenue for finance. 

Corporate-venture funding, the investment of corporate funds into external endeavors, is expected to become a much more crucial source of funding to the industry, with 30% of CEOs surveyed saying they will tap corporate-venture capital as a finance source in the next 12 months, versus only 10% who did so in the past 12 months.

Though still only a small contributor to the finance equation, disease foundations/nongovernmental organizations are growing as a funding source for 11% of CEOs who plan to use these funds in the next 12 months versus only 4%  who did last year.

Access to capital is seen by CEOs as the most influential state policy issue to keep biomedical research, innovation, and investment in California. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of CEOs said that access to capital is extremely important, followed by (in order of importance) tax incentives for innovation (60%), corporate taxation (51%) workforce preparedness (47%), and duplicative regulation among various state and federal agencies (37%).

 The need to seek alternative or nontraditional funding sources is supported by recent global biotechnology financing trends. According to a recent analysis by Burrill and Company, on a global basis, life-sciences companies raised a total of $82.4 billion during 2011 in public financings, up from $65 billion in 2010. Debt financings dominated fundraising in both 2010 and 2011 and accounted for the overall fundraising growth in 2011. Global life sciences public equity financings (initial public offerings [IPOs], private investment in public equity,, and follow-on offerings) totaled just $16 billion, a 7.9%  increase over the $14.8 billion raised in 2010, largely to follow-on financings in China, according to a Jan. 3, 2012, Burrill and Company press relese.

In the United States, public-equity financings in 2011 totaled $5.7 billion, down 17.4% from $6.9 billion a year ago. Fundraising slowed considerably in the US in the second half of the year as markets swung in the face of the European debt crisis and the debate in the US over the raising of the debt ceiling, the Standard and Poor's downgrade of U.S. credit, and the inability to reach agreement in Congress on how to reduce the budget deficit, according to the Burrill and Company release. 

A total of 16 life-sciences companies went public in the US 2011. Together, they raised $1.4 billion. That compares to 20 IPOs in 2010 that raised a total of nearly $1.4 billion. As a group, the life- sciences IPOs of 2011 fell 29% from their initial offering prices as of the close of the year. Ten of the companies that went public in 2011 did so below their target price ranges and, as a group, these companies sold nearly 28% more shares than they had set out to sell while raising about 13% less than they had hoped 

According to CEOs surveyed in the PwC US survey, FDA and regulation are the key issues affecting R&D. Eighty-one percent of CEOs also said that coverage and reimbursement issues are extremely important to the industry’s ability to advance biomedical research, innovation, and investment in California.  In addition, 80% of CEOs surveyed do not believe that FDA has the best regulatory-approval process in the world, and three-quarters believe that within five years, another country could conceivably recreate the system that has made the United States. the leading biomedical region in the world. 

Biotech

Biopharmaceutical executives share their perspective on the key issues influencing growth and innovation.

Biopharmaceutical Executive Outlook

Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals (ACCP

 have embarked on an 18-month pilot program to improve companies’ ability to measure the impact of corporate community investment.Through this initiative, 12 ACCP member companies will learn the LBG framework and its impact measurement tools. Participants will also share their own experiences and best practices to help further develop tools and resources to assist in measuring the impact of community investment. The pilot, focused on the LBG measurement model, launched on Nov.30, 2011. Over the course of the 18-month program, a series of intensive workshops will take place applying the model, which was adopted by The Dow Jones Sustainability Index as its assessment criteria for measuring corporate community investment. As part of the program, a summary report will be jointly developed by ACCP and LBG upon completion of the pilot and shared with ACCP and LBG members. ACCP and LBGs’ combined global scope includes more than 375 member corporations. 

, American women entering college are the best prepared academically to successfully graduate with a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree (82%), but often do not graduate with a STEM degree. The Bayer Facts of Science Education XV survey polled 413 STEM department chairs at the country’s leading research universities, The survey asked the chairs, who are largely male (87%) and Caucasian (88%) to shed light on the undergraduate environment in which today’s female and underrepresented minorities (URM , African-American, Hispanic, and Native-American) STEM students make their career decisions. Key survey results from the STEM chair respondents were:

More than one-third (37%) give their institution a “C” or below for retaining and graduating URMs.

Eight-four percent believe the issue of recruiting and retaining women and URM STEM undergraduates is important to their institution’s chancellor/president. Sixty-nine percent say the issue has reached a point where it needs to be addressed by the highest institutional leadership, including trustees and regents, presidents, provosts, deans, and department chairs.

One third (33%) report their colleges have in place a comprehensive STEM diversity plan with recruitment and retention goals.

Seventy-one percent believe their STEM departments need to significantly increase the academic support they provide STEM students, including women and URMs, to increase retention. 

One-third (33%) say their URM students, given similar academic preparation as their other majority students, are less likely to graduate with STEM degrees.

STEM department chairs report underrepresentation of URM students in both introductory (77%) and upper/major (83%) level STEM courses; only 16% of the STEM degrees from respondents’ departments will be granted to URMs.

Roughly two-thirds report no female underrepresentation in STEM introductory (64%) and upper/major (60 percent) courses, they also say their departments grant more STEM degrees to males (59%) than females (42%).

 have formed a new partnership to help support injured British armed forces personnel successfully transition back into civilian life. The partnership will focus on the creation of a specialist Wellness Center at Tedworth House, a Personnel Recovery and Assessment Center located in Wiltshire, United Kingdom. As part of its program of charitable support in the UK, GSK has pledged to donate £1 million ($1.5 millioni) to Help for Heroes over five years to be used toward the initial construction and the ongoing running of the new Phoenix Wellness Center. At full capacity, the center, due to open in mid-2012, will deliver health, sport, and exercise programs to help over 1000 servicemen and women each year achieve their individual physical and psychological recovery goals. GSK will also provide pro-bono support in the form of know-how and expertise and will offer GSK employees volunteering opportunities with Help for Heroes as part of a broader partnership between the two groups.

, has launched its Sustainability Quotient (SQ) program, a system of assessing, rating, and certifying the sustainability initiatives of corporations at an enterprise level. The SQ program is based on a series of auditable standards, including UL 880: 

Sustainability for Manufacturing Organizations

Sustainability for Service Sector Organizations

, which is in development. These standards assess corporate sustainability initiatives in five domains: governance for sustainability, environment, work force, customers and suppliers, community engagement, and human rights.

In the coming months, UL Environment expects to announce the results of its work with additional organizations, as well as the first SQ qualified sustainability practitioners and business applications that will be available to support companies as they engage with the SQ program. By completing an SQ Readiness Assessment, a company will be able to gauge its readiness for certification against one of UL’s enterprise-level standards. Once the assessment is completed, the company will receive a detailed report indicating gaps between the enterprise's existing program and the requirements of the specific UL standard for purposes of certification. The UL's SQ Analytics will offer detailed benchmark and gap analysis of companies’ sustainability initiatives as measured against a selected UL standard for the purpose of preparing for integration of sustainability efforts related to a merger or acquisition or for targeted risk mitigation. The SQ Supply Chain Service provides support to enterprises that seek to use the SQ program and standards as a foundation for how they interact with their supply chain. 

A roundup of developments in corporate social responsibility and sustainability from the bio/pharmaceutical industry, its suppliers, and other private and public organizations.

PTSM: Pharmaceutical Technology Sourcing and Management-01-12-2012

Troublesome Signs for Bio/Pharmaceutical R&D

API Market Outlook

Pharma Companies Partner in Vaccine Development and Manufacturing

Biopharmaceutical Executive Outlook

CSR and Sustainability in the News