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Eisai is a publicly traded pharmaceutical company that asked its shareholders to shift from a profit-maximization focus to a social purpose. These owners of company shares voted yes in 75% of ballots. This decision resulted in the company moving from one of the world's thirty largest pharmaceutical companies to one of the top twenty. We continue to explore how being an altruistic company, such as Eileen Fisher last week, increases profitability.
At Eisai, the most important leadership quality of all is compassion for patients. By fully understanding and embracing the spirit of human health care, our leaders inspire us to break through in ways that truly meet patients' needs.
The pharma industry is not beloved by many Americans, according to the results of a survey by Gallup. Sixty percent have a negative view, 21% are neutral, and only 18% have a favorable sector perspective. There are regular news stories of significant increases in drug prices. A better story is that Eisai made a 2.2 billion tablet distribution to 886 million individuals in 52 countries to combat elephantiasis for free to the World Health Organization—an example of their compassion for patients' needs.
As an altruistic company, the heart of Eiasi's business is to pursue social value as its primary focus. Their bylaws state that pursuing social purpose will lead to its prosperity. The company accomplishes this result through a well-cultivated governance structure with a long-term perspective incorporating global environmental and social issues. Their efforts have led to being listed on the 2023 Global 100 Most Sustainable Companies in the World, ranking 53rd and the seventh inclusion on the list.
An example of their altruism is their work to improve medication access for those in emerging and developing countries. Their approach includes:
• Access to medicines – The organization focuses on developing long-term solutions for innovative pharmaceuticals that improve the health of all global citizens.
• Elimination of tropical diseases – There are many neglected tropical diseases that Eisai is committing resources to alleviate, including HIV/AIDS, lymphatic filariasis, malaria, mycetoma, and tuberculosis.
• Access to non-communicable disease medications – Eiasi has a flexible pricing policy for developing and emerging countries and global product approval status.
• R&D – They commit to the design of cutting-edge medicines with in-house, third-party contributions, and open innovation initiatives.
The company's purpose is to make medicines available to global citizens of any country and income level to ensure the well-being of everyone. The result of prioritizing first taking care of others has led to taking care of their stakeholders.
Eisai is a publicly traded pharmaceutical company that asked its shareholders to shift from a profit-maximization focus to a social purpose. Their bylaws state that pursuing social purpose will lead to its prosperity. The result of prioritizing first taking care of others has led to taking care of their stakeholders.
Individuals interested in better understanding altruism can read Altruism: How to Cultivate Selfless Behavior. The article shares the types of altruism, causes, benefits, how to foster altruism, and potential pitfalls.
I admire Eisai's shareholder commitment to prioritizing the relief of pain and suffering for patients. Embedding altruism into the organizational core is improving health care for all global citizens, regardless of their circumstances.
Next week's blog will continue to look at the success stories of companies that practice altruism, an integral aspect of becoming a humanist manufacturing organization. There are regular news stories of significant increases in drug prices.
To learn more about our work or read more blog posts, visit emmanuelstratgicsustainability.com.
I encourage you to read my book Humanist Manufacturing: A Humanitarian Approach to Excellence in High-Impact Plant Operations. The paperback and eBook versions are now available at Amazon and many other booksellers. You can also view the Humanist Manufacturing Book Launch to gain additional insight into the Humanist Manufacturing framework.
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