Our hundred-year history, pharmaceutical manufacturing experience and wide-ranging scientific expertise go hand-in-hand with the exacting quality standards of today.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing carries a number of risks, which is why, in the course of our investments and development projects, we pay particular attention to ensuring that the environmental protection tasks related to our operations are carried out responsibly, to using the most modern technology available to us and continuously reducing the environmental footprint of our activities. Both of our sites in Hungary possess IPPC (Integrated Pollution Protection and Control) permits. Environmental considerations constitute an integral part of financial decision-making processes at the Company, and the focus in this respect is always on prevention. An important role in achieving these goals is accorded to management and Research & Development, as well as to the factory and to the facilities-development department.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing and environmental protection

In order to give a meaningful account of our performance, challenges, tasks, objectives and achievements with regard to environmental protection, it is first necessary to give a simplified overview of the pharmaceutical manufacturing process itself.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing is carried out in two main stages. In the first, the active ingredient is produced, while the second constitutes the manufacture of the end-product. In the latter stage the actual tablets, ointments, etc. are made, wrapped and packaged. For the packaging, we use plastic, paper, or glass.

At the centre of all these processes lie the reactors – which consist of reaction tanks and their auxiliary installations. These tanks vary in size, in accordance with the nature of the given process and the quantities to be produced, and, depending on the manufacturing technology used, are usually capable of heating, cooling and mixing their contents. To describe the process in simple terms, the chemicals (raw materials and the solvent that serves as a medium for the reaction) are placed in these tanks, and after the appropriate conditions have been created, at the end of the reaction cycle, the desired (intermediate) product can be separated, by performing certain physical, chemical and chemo-physical operations, from the reaction by-products and solvents. After cleaning and quality control the intermediate product is placed in the next reaction tank, where it undergoes further ‘changes’. Usually, this process is repeated once for each chemical step in the production of a given active ingredient. The solvent used as a reaction medium, or in the cleaning stages, is reintroduced into the manufacturing process either directly or after preparation (evaporation etc.), depending on its quality, or if this is not possible, is neutralised as hazardous waste. Air pollution resulting from volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hazardous waste substances and effluent are all created during the manufacturing process. Special neutralising equipment serves to reduce air pollution. In Budapest, effluent is treated before it reaches the public sewer. In Dorog, it is neutralised in a two-stage biological sewage treatment plant, then the cleaned water is channelled into the Danube under controlled conditions. Hazardous waste is neutralised by licensed waste handling companies.

The energy supply for all of the Company's operations is ensured by a combination of general and specialist pharmaceutical-industry infrastructure. Some of the various forms of energy are generated in-house, while the majority are purchased. The heating medium (steam) required for chemical-industry processes, coolant at various temperatures (including deep-freezing), nitrogen for inerting, compressed air, and electricity, all have to be provided. Conditioned and filtered air is necessary to ensure the ‘clean space’ necessary for the final processing of active ingredients, during which they are turned into the finished medicines. The various types of water we use comply with a number of different cleanliness criteria (drinking and industrial water, high-purity water for injection, etc.).

Our Environmental Protection Policy