Eco-friendly pharmaceutical formulation and production strategies and future perspectives

The pharmaceutical industry plays a vital role in global health; however, its traditional manufacturing workflows carry a massive environmental footprint, characterized by high carbon emissions, volatile solvent waste, and non-biodegradable packaging. This paper reviews the current transition toward "green pharmaceutics," exploring sustainable advancements across formulation design, manufacturing processes, and future life-cycle perspectives.
In drug formulation, the substitution of petroleum-derived synthetic polymers with bio-based, biodegradable excipients (such as chitosan, alginate, and polylactic acid) significantly mitigates post-consumption environmental toxicity. Furthermore, the adoption of green solvents such as supercritical CO2 and water, alongside solvent-free technologies like hot-melt extrusion radically reduces the hazardous volatile organic compound (VOC) waste streams typical of traditional processing. Green chemistry principles like biocatalysis and advanced atom economy are streamlining active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) synthesis to reduce the industry's high environmental factor (E-factor). Downstream, the integration of recyclable mono-materials and bio-based blister packaging addresses the challenge of municipal medical waste.