Roche remains the most sustainable healthcare company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices

For the tenth consecutive year, Roche has been recognised as the most sustainable company in the Pharmaceuticals index of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI).

The largest biotech company in the world, 30 medicines developed by the company are included in the World Health Organization Model Lists of Essential Medicines, among them life-saving antibiotics, antimalarials and cancer medicines.

Based on an in-depth analysis of economic, social and environmental performance, the company serves as a benchmark for investors who integrate sustainability considerations into their portfolios.

 “Our most important contribution to society is the development of medicines and diagnostics that significantly improve people's lives. Open and constructive dialogue with other companies, universities, doctors and patients plays an essential role here in understanding the needs of our partners in the healthcare sector and enabling us to work together to develop more targeted medical solutions faster,” said Roche CEO Severin Schwan.

See also

• Cigna aims to support healthcare start-ups with new corporate venture fund
• Walgreens agrees to acquire 185 Fred Pharmacies within the US
• Kaiser Permanente announces its plans to become carbon neutral by 2020

One example is Roche’s partnership with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF). Since 2010, Roche has been actively supporting the Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI) as part of a collaboration between companies, non-profit organisations and private individuals.

Through this partnership, Roche will soon start to offer study participants access to its digital biomarker platform, which monitors symptoms of disease progression. The anonymised data collected by the technology will be published by the PPMI publicly on a regular basis, for the whole research community – including Roche’s competitors - to access.

The hope is that this will enable the business to better investigate disease progression, speed up clinical development and improve the treatment of Parkinson's disease by accelerating clinical studies and get urgently needed treatments to patients faster.

Roche follows a holistic approach when managing sustainability: In addition to improving access to products, the company’s strategy also focuses on achieving continuous progress in areas such as social responsibility, environmental protection, supply chain sustainability, people attraction and retention.