Modern Slavery Statement 2023
Accord Healthcare Ltd, Accord-UK Ltd and all subsidiaries (“Accord Healthcare EMENA”, “we”) Prohibition Against Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery - Modern Slavery Act 2015
Accord Healthcare is committed to meeting the highest legal, regulatory and ethical standards in all areas of our business, as well as within our supply chain. We have a long-standing commitment to corporate responsibility and this includes upholding human rights and ensuring that modern slavery (in all its forms) is not tolerated within our global business or our supply chain. Accord Healthcare has a zero- tolerance approach to modern slavery wherever we conduct business around the world.
Accord Healthcare has grown rapidly to become one of the fastest growing generics and biosimilar pharmaceutical companies in the world with ambitions to ‘make it better’ through its mission to ensure patients gain access to high quality and affordable medicines throughout the world.
Accord Healthcare belongs to the Intas Pharmaceuticals group of companies, a network that reaches over 80 countries around the world and an extensive presence in EMENA, the Americas and APAC.
Pursuant to applicable regulations, including Section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act of 2015, Accord Healthcare provides the following statement:
This statement sets out actions taken by Accord Healthcare to understand and mitigate potential modern slavery risks related to our business and to put in place steps that are aimed at ensuring there is no slavery or human trafficking either in our own business or in our supply chain.
Accord Healthcare’s modern slavery statement is based on the definitions set out in the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and is guided by the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the conventions of the International Labour Organisation particularly relating to forced or compulsory labour.
Our Business
Accord Healthcare business is the development, manufacture and sale of pharmaceutical products to hospitals, community pharmacies, clinical groups, dispensing doctors and wholesalers across Europe, Middle East and North Africa. We deliver high quality affordable medicines to address unmet needs for patients all over the world. In addition to our broad in-house capabilities, Accord Healthcare has a successful history of strong and long-term partnering.
Accord Healthcare has direct control over all steps of the development, registration, production, testing, quality control, supply chain and pharmacovigilance (PV) processes to support our supply to over 80 countries worldwide across EMENA, the Americas and APAC.
Accord Healthcare believes in the protection of human rights globally both in the workplace at our own facilities and within our supply chain. We prohibit slavery or human trafficking of any kind and are committed to promoting responsible business practices with our suppliers.
Through the work we do, we seek to build and maintain excellent relations with our employees, as well as with our suppliers, and in doing so, robust processes are put into place to identify and mitigate areas of risk including modern slavery and human trafficking. With dedicated internal resource we are able to manage and develop our principles that govern all areas of risk while ensuring we have a training and awareness framework to mitigate modern slavery and human trafficking.
Our Policies
Accord Healthcare’s policies, including our Code of Conduct, set out our legal and ethical principles demonstrating our approach and responsibility in respecting all human rights. Our policies define our values, ethics and expectations regarding responsible business conduct, as well as the standards that we require all employees to follow, including fairness, diversity and inclusion, anti-harassment and bullying, human trafficking and slavery. These policies also define our approach as a company in our relationships with third parties.
Training and Risk Awareness
Accord Healthcare conducts regular awareness training for all employees, with additional support given to those in roles considered to have a sensitive element or which exposes them to areas of enhanced risk.
The training provides details on laws and ethics as well as arming each individual with knowledge to help them to spot possible warning signs of worrying behaviour, while detailing avenues of support for escalating any concerns.
We have a process in place that allows employees to raise concerns safely in a number of ways without risk of retaliation, one of them allowing them to remain protected from identification. Accord Healthcare takes any report seriously and will investigate all concerns raised.
Accountability Standards and Values
Accord Healthcare holds each individual employee to the highest level of ethical and social responsibilities. We encourage all employees to act with integrity, while working together to drive our business forward, ensuring risk is mitigated and ensuring we operate in a compliant and ethical manner.
Employees who do not comply with our policies may be subject to investigation according to our disciplinary policy, which may result in disciplinary procedures including dismissal.
To the extent permitted by law and contractual provisions governing termination rights, we reserve the right to terminate relationships with third parties, including suppliers, who conduct business in a manner that conflicts with our policies.
Assessment of modern slavery risk
Our firm belief is that the risk of modern slavery in our directly employed workforce is low due to the highly regulated nature of our industry. We recognise that our exposure to the risk of modern slavery increases when we engage with third parties in certain sectors and countries.
Our Supply Chain
Accord Healthcare purchases medicines, pharmaceutical ingredients and componentry from third party suppliers. Accord Healthcare’s goal is to work with suppliers who embrace and comply with both the laws and our principles, and, in turn, have these suppliers encourage compliance from any suppliers with whom they work.
We expect all suppliers to act in accordance with our strong values, continually operating ethically, fairly and with the highest integrity.
Due Diligence
Whilst Accord Healthcare neither requires annual certifications nor conducts formal on-site audits of all its’ supplier relationships, we do conduct new supplier due diligence via a Know Your Business Partner process which includes assessment of the supplier’s modern slavery position, where they are required to publish one by law, a review of publicly-available news related to legal and ethical practices/ violations and a questionnaire requesting more detailed information about the suppliers’ operations and key employees.
We regularly review the limitations and requirements of the due diligence processes in operation. We also conduct on-site visits of our primary suppliers from time to time to review and discuss contract and quality performance. All suppliers and business partners are reviewed in line with a documented programme based on a pre-defined risk profile. Any suppliers or business partners who no longer meet our high expectations, or who contravene laws or display negative behaviours, may as a consequence, be discontinued from use. Any exceptions to the above diligence are risk assessed and reviewed by the Senior Director Compliance EMENA before proceeding with the business relationship. Accord Healthcare also offers training support for partners without established compliance frameworks in place.
We are targeting SMETA supplier audits for our key suppliers by mid- 2024 to ensure continued development of our suppliers' respect of workers.
Further steps
Accord Healthcare will continue to review and improve its practices to identify and eliminate potential modern slavery or human trafficking from our business, which includes further development of our Third- Party Risk Management Framework.
Reporting and investigating concerns
Accord Healthcare strives to adhere to the highest ethical standards of business conduct for its employees and business partners.
We strive to maintain a safe environment where people feel confident to raise concerns about possible breaches of our internal policies or a suspected breach of country laws or regulations. Employees within Accord Healthcare are actively encouraged to raise issues internally via their line manager or HR or report potential concerns to an independent third-party provider through our Speak Up Hotline, confidentially and anonymously if they prefer. Accord Healthcare is committed to promptly investigating all reports of possible misconduct and any unethical, illegal or inappropriate activity. For the financial year ended 31st March 2023 no reports have been received in relation to modern slavery or human trafficking.
Approval process
Accord Healthcare operates and manages its subsidiaries through policies, processes and systems which are designed to be consistently applied across the EMENA Region.
This statement has been prepared after consulting with the key relevant functions which collaborate to deliver our labour rights risk identification, assessment and management processes for our operations and supply chain.
Date of Statement 2023
Our next statement will follow the year ending 31st March 2024.