A recently published article in Drug Discovery Today proposes broadening the concept of pharmaceutical sustainability by integrating regenerative medicine into pharmacological sustainability frameworks. The authors suggest that certain biological therapies could help reduce long-term dependence on chronic pharmacological treatments, potentially lowering their clinical, economic, and environmental impact.

Entitled Toward sustainable therapeutics: integrating regenerative medicine into pharmacological sustainability frameworks, the review examines the most widely used biological therapies in clinical practice, particularly cell-based therapies and blood-derived products such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP). It explores how these approaches could support a shift in the therapeutic paradigm—from managing symptoms to promoting tissue repair and modifying disease.

The article builds on a well-recognized challenge: chronic pharmacotherapy places a significant clinical and economic burden on healthcare systems, while active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) released into the environment contribute to ecosystem pollution. In this context, regenerative medicine is presented as a potential drug-sparing strategy, offering an alternative approach that could reduce the need for long-term medication in selected clinical settings.

The authors also emphasize that the current evidence remains limited and, in many cases, indirect. Further research will therefore be needed to quantify the clinical, economic, and environmental outcomes associated with these therapies before firm conclusions can be drawn.

Rather than providing definitive answers, this publication opens a new avenue for research into the role regenerative medicine may play in advancing more sustainable healthcare systems, while highlighting the importance of evaluating sustainability not only in pharmaceutical manufacturing, but also in the way therapies are conceived and delivered.

Reference

Diego Delgado, Unax Lertxundi, Laura Brizuela, Gorka Orive, Mikel Sánchez,
Toward sustainable therapeutics: integrating regenerative medicine into pharmacological sustainability frameworks, Drug Discovery Today, 2026, 104749, ISSN 1359-6446,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drudis.2026.104749.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359644626001546)