Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), their metabolites, and transformation products often act as pollutants in the environment, impacting both human health and ecosystems. To tackle this issue, an efficient, long-term prevention strategy involves designing APIs with reduced environmental impact – greener APIs. This involves incorporating environmental parameters into the Research and Development (R&D) process. This article explores the feasibility of designing greener APIs, drawing insights from drug design experts in major research-based pharmaceutical companies.

The PREMIER project aims to develop a comprehensive assessment system dedicated to characterizing the environmental risks of APIs, including their human metabolites and environmental transformation products. This innovative system is designed to fulfill several key objectives, including the screening and prioritization of existing APIs, identification of potential hazards linked to APIs in development, and the enhancement of accessibility to pertinent environmental data for all stakeholders.