Committed to social responsibility

For us, it’s not enough simply to say we have values. We put our values into action by creating and supporting initiatives that positively impact the environment, society, and the way we run our business. These initiatives are aligned not only with our values and our culture, but also the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and the standards for the Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals industry as set by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).

We believe that by building a sustainable and ethical business foundation, we’re able to create and grow deeper and more meaningful connections with patient communities, healthcare professionals, colleagues, partners and stakeholders.

We are committed to uncovering and implementing new approaches that reduce our environmental impact. Across our facilities, we have converted to LED lighting. We built bike storage to encourage our people to cycle to work. Our cafeteria uses all compostable products, and we’ve worked with our meal service partners to transition to compostable delivery containers. We have moved to single stream recycling and further reduced our plastic waste by adding water bottle refill stations and pipette tip recycling. And we’ve reduced our water waste by installing low-flow, high-efficiency fixtures.

We apply sustainability to our manufacturing practices also. We ensure our medicines are produced on a timeline that reduces product expiration. This makes sure that our medicines are going to those who need them, not to waste.

When unprecedented challenges disrupt supply chains, we put our flexibility and resourcefulness into action to ensure continued access to our investigational medicines. For example, through the COVID-19 pandemic we were able to accelerate manufacturing to make sure there wouldn’t be any interruptions in medication for patients. We also ensured that we could continue our clinical trials, adopting alternative approaches to support trial participants’ access to investigational drugs in safe environments.

This included the establishment of our Clinical Trial Coronavirus Task Force, which supported patients on a case-by-case basis to enable their continued participation in our studies throughout the pandemic. Where appropriate, we instituted home visits, telemedicine approaches and courier shipments of investigational medicines.

We have put in place strong corporate governance controls that hold us accountable to the high bar we set for ethical, transparent business practices. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applies to everyone at Agios. It codifies Agios’s commitment to doing business in an ethical manner and in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and industry standards. The Code helps guide our daily operations, and our suppliers and business partners are also expected to live up to its principles. In addition, the Code is supplemented by more detailed policies to help avoid conflicts of interest, ensuring appropriate interactions with healthcare professionals, government officials, patients and patient advocates, and policies detailing our commitment to promote our products honestly and based on accurate scientific information.

Our board of directors follows corporate governance guidelines that require that our board is majority independent and effective. Directors have full access to our management, and the board regularly conducts self-assessments to gauge whether it is operating effectively. New directors participate in an orientation, and all board members are expected to take part in continuing director education, so they are in the best position possible to oversee our management.

We strive to foster a welcoming workplace where everyone can thrive. As an organization that values and embraces differences, we’re continuously looking to improve the inclusivity of our workforce. This commitment is essential to our success and helps drive our ability to create transformative medicines for people with genetically defined diseases.

We are an active participant in the communities that surround us — the communities where we live and the community of people and their loved ones in need of better treatment options for conditions that are often overlooked. Learn more about the ways Agios is getting involved and giving back.