The first thing that should drive a company towards an ethical direction is its main product. A neat trick to achieve this starts by explicitly stating an ethical purpose for your company. A statement like this should:
- Achieve a universal understanding of what the product should do: Since the statement is brief, employees are quickly reminded of the end result they’re striving for. This is especially useful when it’s not something they come in contact with in their daily life.
- Set the expectations for what the focus and quality of the product should be: the quality of a product is not only defined by the authenticity of its components, but the ethical quality of its sources. Ethical quality also implies lawful and virtuous production processes, if applicable.
- Center the conversation back to the end user: The first step to develop an ethical business comes from ensuring the wellbeing and health of its end users.
In other words, with a strong ethical purpose we can build strong ethical products. As you may have noticed, writing an ethical purpose for a business answers the questions:
- How much weight should we give to ethical priorities?
- Who should define and order these priorities?
- Which role do suppliers, employees and workers play in ensuring these items are monitored and accomplished?
Several years ago, if we made these questions, most answers would be bucketed to the “optional” topic of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). However, this is no longer sustainable for businesses. Target users now browse a broad and detailed repository of information through the internet, and social media offers a platform to amplify whistleblowers. Additionally, officials in organizations, both profit and non-profit, have a more thorough understanding of the activities and decisions made by these companies.
For over 15 years now, Gilead has owned the patent for the antiretroviral medicine “Tenofovir” or TDF for HIV patients. The effectiveness and a lack of alternatives in the market allows Gilead to lead a monopoly. As a result, TDF has rocketed to the value of 54 USD for 30 tablets. In response, activists both offline and online have spoken against this, inviting users to boycott and spread the word. While this has been an uphill climb, the U.S. government recently has started a lawsuit against the company. Gilead tried to extend its patent for 3 more years, which government officials deemed inappropriate for current health patent standards.
If businesses intend to embrace this change, they need to start revising their product’s mission, vision and market strategies. An effective revision potentially cascades across the company, beginning a slow but necessary shift in focus towards strong ethical products.
References
Moriarty, J. (2016, November 17). Business Ethics. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-business/#FirmGovePoliCSR.
Brazil rejects Gilead’s AIDS drug patent. (2008, September 3). Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-aids-gilead/brazil-rejects-gileads-aids-drug-patent-idINN0333546020080903.
Mcneil, D. G., & Mandavilli, A. (2019, November 8). Who Owns H.I.V.-Prevention Drugs? The Taxpayers, U.S. Says. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/health/hiv-prevention-truvada-patents.html.
Silverman, E., Silverman, E., & Silverman, E. (2019, December 6). Activists seek to block Gilead patent extension on lucrative HIV drug. Retrieved from https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2019/12/06/gilead-hiv-patents-aids/.
Sagonowsky, E. (2019, December 6). Gilead, seeking HIV patent extension, faces ‘gamesmanship’ claims from patient group. Retrieved from https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/gilead-seeking-patent-extension-hiv-meds-runs-into-pushback-from-patient-advocates.
Tenofovir alafenamide Prices, Coupons & Patient Assistance Programs. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.drugs.com/price-guide/tenofovir-alafenamide.
