ESG

OBI Pharma Inc. founded in 2002, we have been focusing on the research and development of new drugs, challenging ourselves to fulfill unmet medical needs in hard-to-treat diseases with innovative and cost-effective products to improve people’s health and quality of life.

Our core philosophy is based on “whatever you take from the society; use them for the society” and sustainable development. We promise to:

Promote corporate governance and comply to laws and regulations
OBI’s mission is the well being of the patients and all its research and development are primarily devoted to the interests of the patients and their safe drug use.
Abide by all relevant medical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industry-related standards and clinical ethics during its R&D process
Maximize company value and promote shareholder benefits
Provide fair employee benefits, healthy work environment, and career development
Devote in social welfare
Mindful of environmental changes, implement green office, and reduce carbon footprint

OBI Pharma (hereafter “the Company”) has set up “Sustainable Development Best Practice Principles” as the basis for implementing the corporate sustainable development policy, and will revise relevant policies and guidelines in response to developmental needs.

The Company has established a Sustainable Development Executive Committee to promote its corporate sustainable development policy. The board of directors is the highest guiding unit for sustainable development affairs, which the chief executive officer chairs. The Public Affairs Department serves as the executive secretariat under the Sustainable Development Executive Committee. The sustainability-related affairs are also classified into 5 special task force teams: Corporate Governance and Economics, Product Services, Employee Care, Social Care, and Sustainable Environment. Representatives from the relevant departments appoint the committee members of each team. Through teamwork, the teams aim to advocate the concept of corporate sustainability, identify and analyze sustainable development issues, and promote the following relevant policies. The Company shall disclose the implementation results to the Company’s stakeholders, highlight the Company’s sustainable development achievements in the sustainability report published regularly every year, and submit the report to the board of directors. The Company’s board of directors has approved the “Operational Procedure for Preparation and Validation of the Sustainability Report” in March 2023 to promote the sustainability report preparation-related operations and implement the Company’s sustainability policy.

I. Corporate Governance

The Company has formulated a specific corporate governance promotion plan and adopted the “Corporate Governance Best Practice Principles” as the legal basis for continuous internal corporate governance updates. The Company also established a Corporate Governance Unit in March 2023 for sustained strengthening of corporate governance.

The board of directors is the Company’s highest governance unit. In addition, the company has also established the “Audit Committee,”“ Remuneration Committee, and other functional committees” according to law. The goal is to supervise the Company’s professional functions, implement the internal control system through auditing, ensure financial transparency externally, and timely disclose important information to protect the rights and interests of investors.

In order to respect the rights and interests of stakeholders, we set up an “Investors” section on the Company’s official website. Through adequate communication channels, the team seeks to understand the reasonable expectations and needs of the stakeholders while also responding appropriately to their concerns about sustainable development issues.

Information Transparency
1. Disclose corporate social responsibilities in Annual Reports and ESG Reports. Sponsorship and/or participation in community activities are make known to the public through public media or other means of communication.
2. Each year, the Company prepares an ESG report to be published on the MOPS and company’s official website. In future, the Company will continue to fulfill its corporate social responsibility by actively promoting corporate governance and sustainable development, promoting social welfare and maintaining good labor-management relations and fulfilling corporate citizenship responsibilities in the pursuit of environmental and earth’s sustainability.

To implement the goal of sustainable development, strengthen the information security risks management, OBI is now ISO 27001 certified, adopts the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle method, and constructs multi-layer in-depth information security defense. Additionally, the Company performs information security risk assessment operations, and continuously strengthens information security management systems and technologies to ensure their appropriateness and effectiveness and lower the operating risk.

II. Environmental Sustainability

The Company’s primary operation lies in the R&D of new drugs. The current product lines are all in the early stage of R&D or clinical trials, and the required energy, resources, and materials are limited. Therefore, the Company’s water resource and energy consumption management is no different from that of general offices and will not burden the environment.

In September 2023, the Company moved into the Taipei Bioinnovation Park, which is an environmentally friendly green building . The employees must also adopt energy-saving habits to conserve electricity, save water, and conserve resources. The Company is also committed to resource classification, recycling, and other measures to reduce waste and recover resources.

In 2022, many products have developed toward the preclinical or clinical stages. Strategic partners or downstream manufacturers carry out part of our R&D work, so the electricity consumption for 2022 was reduced by 11.94% compared to 2021. The Company will continue to implement energy conservation and resource-saving measures.

OBI’s pipeline has not yet begun mass production. In the future, the Company will incorporate environmental protection and energy conservation concepts into the planning of mass production processes and adopt appropriate measures for environmental considerations.

A safety committee and relevant waste disposal and recycling policies are in place to comply with environmental regulations. The Company has established an “Industrial Waste Disposal Plan” and the ” Laboratory Waste Management Measures” to strictly require laboratory personnel to properly dispose industrial wastes according to the operating standard procedures, entrust qualified contract vendors to remove and dispose of industrial wastes, and timely report the relevant matters to the competent authority as required. The Company’s total waste output in 2022 is 9.25 tons, which increased by 30% compared to 2021. The main reason is that the new products have entered the development and scale-up stage, and the workload has increased rapidly. During the R&D process, the Company has fulfilled its environmental protection obligations and strengthened waste management measures according to the “Regulations Governing Determination of Reasonable Due Care Obligations of Enterprises Commissioning Waste Clearance” to strengthen waste management measures and take actions to fulfill the environmental sustainability goals.

Regarding greenhouse gas emission-related statistics and estimation, The Company has begun to plan greenhouse gas inventory methods, develop climate change mitigation strategies, and establish energy-saving and carbon-reduction goals. In 2022, the Company conducted two “Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Quantification” education and training sessions. In 2023, the Company completed greenhouse gas inventory (for the year 2022) and obtained third-party verification. In the future, greenhouse gas inventory and disclosure shall be carried out according to laws and regulations.

The Company’s Sustainable Development Executive Committee shall draft, manage, and implement climate change-related issues. The chief executive officer shall be responsible for overall responsibility and regularly reporting to the board of directors. The Company assessed the risks and opportunities posed by climate change using the Financial Stability Board’s TCFD framework for the first time in 2022, which will be reviewed and updated annually. The Company’s sustainability report discloses a detailed description of the Company’s climate change risks, opportunity analyses, and response methods.

III. Product Quality and Safety

Product responsibility

Vendor relationship
1. The Company has developed the “Supplier Evaluation Management Measures” to set strict selection conditions and procedures for suppliers, to ensure that the outsourced production of drugs and services meets the company’s and regulatory requirements, and to ensure suppliers can consistently provide raw materials that meet specifications, product and services. Before signing a cooperation contract, the Company will create a report after thoroughly examining the performance of suppliers in the professional field, industry evaluation, completeness of plant equipment, employee quality, and corporate value. Once all conditions are set, the Company will ensure the prospective partner follows all procedures, inform the partner of the Company’s integrity policy in good faith, and require reasonable quotations, appropriate quality, and services before the two parties start cooperation. The goal is for the parties to jointly improve product quality, fulfill the enterprise’s sustainable development under the principle of mutual trust and benefit, and establish a good long-term cooperative partnership. OBI Pharma, Inc. also conducts supplier evaluations once a year according to the “Company’s “Manufacturer Evaluation Procedures.” The Company shall cease any ongoing business cooperation with suppliers disqualified by the evaluation. For disqualified suppliers still in business with the Company, their cooperation will be terminated after completing the business. The Company also conducts regular audits for long-term partners according to the degree of risk. High risk is inspected once a year, medium risk is inspected every three years, and low risk is arranged accordingly. Advice and assistance will be provided when necessary to help the Company’s partners meet quality control and operating process standards. Once a supplier is found to have a potential negative impact on product quality, society, or the environment during the cooperation period, the Company will take the initiative to understand the matter at first instance and require suppliers to improve according to the laws and regulations or decrees from competent authorities. If the two parties cannot reach an agreement, the cooperative relationship may be terminated according to the agreement.
2. In order to pursue the development, coexistence, and common prosperity of the biotech industry in Taiwan, OBI Pharma’s selection of outsourced manufacturers is based on policy considerations that prioritize local manufacturers. This will facilitate biotech and new pharmaceutical industry to take root in Taiwan while also reducing the carbon emissions of international shipments and the risk of supply interruption.

IV. Employee Care

Workplace diversity and equality
1. The Company formulated the “Human Rights Policy” in March 2023 in response to the “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” and the “International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights” (known as the “Two Conventions”) as well as the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” of the United Nations to eliminate forced labor, promote gender equality, and protect labor rights in the workplace.
2. By taking “Innovation, Caring, Respect, Integrity, Team Work” as the core corporate philosophy, the Company considers employees as its co-entrepreneurial partners. In addition to emphasizing frank communication and maintaining good labor-management relations, the company also promises to create a happy workplace.
3. The Company’s meritocracy policy is based on good character, professionalism, and experience. A strict “zero discrimination” policy is adopted so that employees will never be discriminated due to race, skin color, gender, age, nationality, ancestry, religious belief, disability, etc. There has never been a discrimination, harassment, or bullying incident within the Company. Two disabled employees were employed in 2022. The gender ratio of the Company’s employees is almost 1:1, and there is no gender or age differential treatment. The Company has established a breastfeeding room, and childcare allowances are provided for employees. The Company expects to become a “happy company” in the biotechnology industry, and with welfare measures better than those required by the “Labor Standards Act.

Salary & Benefits
1. Employee Salary: We work with internationally renowned management institutions to establish the Company’s salary benchmarks, and stay abreast of salary market conditions to ensure employees enjoy salaries higher than peer companies, and that employees of the same age and seniority receive the same pay regardless of gender. Every year, the industry’s salary adjustment level is taken into consideration with the Company’s operating performance and profit status to According to the performance of managers/employees to implement reward differentiation, and determine the annual salary adjustment levels and to implement salary adjustments Furthermore, the Company has established salary, employee stock subscription, and work-related rules to set up salary and reward and punishment standards so employees can share the Company’s operating performance results.
2. Employee benefits: The Company provides leave benefits that are superior to those required by the “Labor Standards Act.” In terms of insurance, in addition to the labor and health insurance required by the “Labor Insurance Act” and “National Health Insurance Act,” the Company also provides group and occupational injury insurances to strengthen protection for employees and their family members. The Company has also established an Employee Welfare Committee according to the “Employee Welfare Fund Act” to organize activities to promote employee care and reward employee benefits.
  The Company is committed to promoting a sports culture and encouraging employees to exercise diligently after work. The Company has established measures to encourage employees to develop club activities. The Company has established an “Employee Stock Option Certificate Issuance and Share Subscription Method” to share the Company’s growth achievements with employees and strengthen employee cohesion with the Company.

Taking care of employees’ physical and mental health
1. According to the “Regulations of the Labor Health Protection”, the Company has recruited a full-time nurse to be responsible for employees’ annual health checkups and health consultation services. Health workshops are also held regularly to raise the employees’ awareness of physical health, mental health, and healthcare.
2. The Company has also established a “Maternal Health Protection Plan”, which conducts hazard assessment and control for employees who are pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding by providing physician consultation and guidance, risk classification management, and work suitability arrangement.
3. The Company also regularly arranges physicians to hold lectures on diet and health and also to provide health consultation services for employees with abnormal health check reports, pain or discomfort, or have questions about general medical issues.

Workplace safety
1. The Company has established the “Labor Safety Work Rules,” “Work Execution Illegal Infringement Prevention Plan,” “Human Factor Hazard Prevention Program,” “Abnormal Workload-induced Illness Prevention Plan,” and “Maternal Health Protection Plan” according to the “Occupational Safety and Health Act.” The goal is to create a friendly and safe working environment by establishing the handling procedures and response methods to outline the rights, responsibilities, and obligations; the relevant work safety and health guidelines; and hazards prevention plans. The Company has established the “Safe Laboratory Practices” to ensure laboratory safety, prevent or mitigate laboratory occupational disasters, and maintain the safety of employees at work.
2. Laboratory and office safety drill are conducted at least twice a year.
3. A “Safety and Health Management Team” was established to implement safety and health inspections. The Company also provides retraining subsidies for employees to obtain or update their occupational safety and health administrator licenses. We have also established an “Emergency Response Team” to deal with emergencies. The goal is to clearly divide the powers and responsibilities of management, command, and supervision at all levels to maintain laboratory and office safety; and strictly manage industrial waste, biological infectious waste, and chemical management. At present, 2 employees have obtained the professional response personnel training certificate.
Education & Training

Diversified Communication Channels
1. By setting up two-way communication channels such as complaint mailboxes and electronic newsletters, the company encourages employees to raise their questions and suggestions in two-way communication.
2. The Company’s employee complaint reporting channels include the human resource units, department heads, executive directors, and special complaint mailboxes. For those whistleblowing or complaining, the Company emphasizes protecting the rights and interests of the parties involved, and all investigations and handling procedures are strictly confidential.
Retirement System Following “Labor Standards Act”, the OBI retirement package includes:
1. Employee pension: Match 6% of employees’ earnings to the individual retirement account
2. Retirement qualification: following current labor lawt
3. Numbers of retired employees in 2022: No