What place for veganism in the pharmaceutical industry? For people who rule out any product of animal origin, treatment can become a difficult choice. In England, 75% of prescription drugs contain animal products, the Vegan Society warns. And most of the time the public is not informed about it. Some pharmaceutical industries are starting to investigate the problem, such as the company Axunion, which has just released a vegan paracetamol. explanation.
Medications in powder, tablet, or capsule form include magnesium stearate, a salt of stearic acid. This magnesium-coupled fatty acid may be of animal origin. The composition of drugs may also contain gelatin, obtained from bones, and lactose, obtained from animal milk.
These components are not automatically specified to the general public. “Of the 100 best-selling medicines, it is impossible in 70% of the cases to know whether the medicine contains animal substances”, points to its website Veggiepharm, a French start-up that offers vegan medicines and nutritional supplements. There is also the issue of animal testing, which goes against the beliefs of vegans.
In 2017, the Vegan Society launched a campaign called “Make More Medicines Vegan” targeting the UK government. The goal: awareness of plant-based solutions in the production of medicines.
Some drugs are already on the market
The solutions seem to come from certain pharmaceutical industries. At the beginning of March 2022, the German pharmaceutical company Axunio launched a paracetamol that is entirely of plant origin and has not been tested on animals. This drug is the first to receive the Vegan Trademark Certificate from the Vegan Society.
This pain reliever, called Paraveganio, is just as effective as the paracetamol we are used to taking, the makers explain. It is therefore indicated in mild pain or fever.
In its composition we find 500 mg of paracetamol. Paraveganio relieves itself of any animal presence by including a plant-based alternative to magnesium stearate.
France is not lagging behind in research into medicines without animal origin. Founded in 2017, the French laboratory Veggiepharm offers a paracetamol “without animal extract”, produced without animal testing and certified by the Eve Vegan label.
(ETX Daily Up)