Shire Issues 2016 Annual Responsibility Review
Shire Issues 2016 Annual Responsibility Review
Lexington, Mass., USA – March 23, 2017 – Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPG) today announced the launch of the Company’s 2016 Annual Responsibility Review. The Review, available at shire.com, highlights how Shire’s growth has strengthened its approach to Responsibility and allows the Company to better meet the needs of people around the world with rare diseases and their families.
“Responsibility and responsible leadership permeate everything we do at Shire. We address significant unmet medical needs and work tirelessly to improve people’s lives with medicines that have a meaningful impact on patients, their families and the healthcare system,” said Flemming Ornskov, M.D., M.P.H., Shire Chief Executive Officer. “Meeting the fundamental objective of responsible leadership is by no means a simple proposition. It is a challenging endeavor that depends on the efforts of our entire organization.”
Responsibility is embedded across Shire’s business and central to its overall success, ensuring accountability for the Company’s social, economic, and environmental impacts. The Review details how Shire has advanced in the areas of supporting patients, people and culture, sustainable operations, and ethics and transparency in 2016, including the following accomplishments:
- Focusing on what matters: Following Shire’s acquisition of Baxalta in June, 2016, Shire conducted a Responsibility Materiality Assessment to identify and prioritize the most important Responsibility issues to Shire and its stakeholders, ensuring Shire focuses its resources for maximum positive effect.
- Partnership with SeriousFun Children’s Network: In February of 2016, Shire committed $3 million over three years to support this global non-profit organization comprised of 30 camps and programs serving children with serious illnesses and their families, always free of charge. Shire employees volunteered approximately 5,000 hours throughout the year through a variety of local opportunities, including serving as camp counselors for up to a week.
- Improving diagnostic pathways for rare disease patients: In 2016, Shire performed 85,356 diagnostic tests, free of charge, in more than 50 countries for Gaucher disease, Fabry disease, and Hunter syndrome patients, a 139 percent increase from 2015. Rare diseases such as these can be devastating, as they are difficult to detect and equally difficult to treat.
The Review highlights ambitious future Responsibility actions for Shire throughout 2017, including using the results of its materiality assessment to define a long-term, sustainable Responsibility strategy with clear metrics and goals.
Shire is recognized as a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series for positive environmental, social and governance practices.
For more information, please visit http://www.shire.com. Follow Shire on Social Media: Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
For further information please contact:
| Investor Relations | ||
| Robert Coates | [email protected] | +44 1256 894874 |
| Media | ||
| Debbi Ford | [email protected] | +1 617 949 9083 |
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Shire
Shire is the leading global biotechnology company focused on serving people with rare diseases and other highly specialized conditions. We strive to develop best-in-class products, many of which are available in more than 100 countries, across core therapeutic areas including Hematology, Immunology, Neuroscience, Ophthalmics, Lysosomal Storage Disorders, Gastrointestinal / Internal Medicine / Endocrine and Hereditary Angioedema; and a growing franchise in Oncology.
Our employees come to work every day with a shared mission: to develop and deliver breakthrough therapies for the hundreds of millions of people in the world affected by rare diseases and other high-need conditions, and who lack effective therapies to live their lives to the fullest.