Novo Group has come top in an analysis of the ethical performance of the world’s major pharmaceutical companies.
The Munich-based rating agency oekom research assessed the Danish company as the best performer of the 22 largest pharmaceutical companies by market capitalization, in a ranking compiled using 200 environmental and social criteria.
These included the companies’ performance in areas such as human rights and workplace standards.
Oekom gave Novo a straight B corporate responsibility rating on a scale ranging from A+ to D-.
The US company Bristol-Myers Squibb, which also achieved a B rating, came second, with the German company Bayer in third place with a B-. Pharmacia from the US came bottom in the ranking with a score of C-.
Oekem said: ‘With an average score of C+, the sector as a whole came out with a good rating. However, there is a yawning gap between the leading companies and those at the tail end. The leading group has acknowledged the sector’s global responsibility, and now it is up to the stragglers to catch up.’