Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week - Why Doing the Right Thing is So Important in Biopharma

It’s been my experience that most people want to do the right thing. And yet, around 47% of companies report that they have been affected by corporate crime within the last 2 years¹. If so many people want to do the right thing, why is this number so high?

Often, it’s a lack of knowledge and awareness about the appropriate behaviors. And so, the awareness and procedures must be instilled in business operations. In the midst of Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week, it’s the perfect time to acknowledge why compliance is important, particularly in the biopharmaceutical industry.

There’s good reason why compliant behavior should be an integral part of any organization, as non-compliance costs are 2.7 times the costs of maintaining/meeting compliance standards¹.

And it’s especially important in the biopharmaceutical industry, as our commitment to compliance is not only for our business, but most importantly, for our patients. Pharmaceuticals are highly regulated – and for good reason, given the enormous impact medicines can have on the lives of patients.

Everyone can help ensure that we act responsibly – it is a common task for all of us. And working in the healthcare business, HOW we reach our goals is just as important as achieving them. That’s why at EMD Serono, through our global parent company Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, we have developed a global framework to instill compliant, sustainable and transparent business operations.

At EMD Serono, I’m proud to see that compliant operating procedures are part of our DNA, embedded into everything we do at the company. Colleagues very openly reach out, provide honest and open feedback and proactively ask questions on relevant topics and areas of support. They want to do the right thing and engage with compliance to ensure they are doing so.

And while the culture of compliance is strong at EMD Serono, our Compliance team continues to reflect on our business priorities and how we can support compliant behavior in the most efficient way. From targeted trainings with employees on speaker programs, to our own in-house “Compliance Week” to educate and engage our employees – there is always opportunity to monitor and learn from our current practices.

And it all starts from the top – leaders who do not work ethically and compliantly can’t expect their teams to do so. It takes focused effort to operate competitively while fully compliant, and I applaud all who keep this perspective at the forefront of their working lives.

¹ Ponemon Institute; PwC Study Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2020