Human Rights Position Statement

Our mission is to serve patients by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering drugs that treat serious illnesses. Making a positive difference in the world is at the heart of what we do at Amgen — and it goes beyond making vital medicines. We also help build a better world by focusing on environmental, social and governance issues that matter most to our business and our stakeholders.

1. Our Commitment

We are committed to conducting our business ethically and working to comply with the laws and regulations that govern our business in all markets in which we operate.  

Human Rights are fundamental rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language or religion.  These rights are included in the International Bill of Human Rights¹ and other international treaties and instruments.

Amgen supports human rights within our operations and in our business relationships. We are a signatory to the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, an initiative that calls on companies to align their strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption, and to take actions that advance societal goals.  We also support the key tenets of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Further, our approach to human rights risks is informed by international standards and industry best practices.

2. Our Impact

In line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, our human rights position statement focuses on addressing risks that could have the most severe impact on people: the patients we serve, our employees, and the communities where we operate. Our respect of human rights extends throughout our operations and our suppliers.  

2.1 Right to Health

The World Health Organization defines the right to health as: "The right of every human being to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health."² Governments have the primary duty for protecting, fulfilling, and respecting their peoples' right to health, but all stakeholders play a role.  

Our belief is that innovative, highly differentiated medicines that provide clinical benefits in addressing serious diseases are medicines that will not only help patients, but also will help reduce the social and economic burden of disease in society today.

Access and Affordability

Providing access to our medicines supports our mission to serve patients. Through our access to healthcare programs, we work with partners, as appropriate, to expand access to our medicines and support efforts to strengthen healthcare systems to better serve patients in need worldwide. 

To help provide broad access to our novel therapies for appropriate patients we:

• Price our medicines responsibly;
• Partner with payers to align on value;
• Support prescriber choice; and
• Develop patient support programs.

For more information visit the Access to Healthcare section of Amgen.com. 

Representative Clinical Trials

At Amgen, our health equity efforts are focused on expanding access to clinical study participation among historically underserved populations, facilitating comprehensive health education, and engaging with community support systems.  

Racial and ethnic minority populations, women, and the elderly continue to be significantly underrepresented in clinical research. This underrepresentation can contribute to and reinforce inequities that exist in health access and delivery and reduce the number of patients that we can effectively serve. We are working to reverse this trend by addressing some of the barriers that deter people from participating in research. More representative patient populations in clinical studies may help enable more accurate diagnoses, expand access to therapies and optimize treatment outcomes for patients, irrespective of a specific therapy or clinical trial.  

Amgen's Representation in Clinical Research team, also known as RISE, is leading our efforts in six key areas by:

• Embedding inclusive research principles into the clinical trial lifecycle, with the goal of keeping the patient and their community involved as partners throughout;
• Addressing needs of diverse communities through authentic community engagement, working as a convening partner to provide resources and connections;
• Expanding best practices, novel programs and sustainable solutions nationally and grow RISE footprint globally;
• Contributing to programs aimed at improving patient education, patient health literacy, access to health and wellness services and build long term sustainable trust; 
• Expanding data standards, sources and systems to inform and support clinical study conduct; and
• Enhancing precision medicine awareness and improving genetic representation in translational science.

Disease Awareness and Health Literacy

We are focused on helping to equip patients with information they need to access healthcare services, manage chronic conditions more effectively and make informed choices about their health. By increasing patient, caregiver and provider access to relevant health education we can champion health within historically underserved communities.

We are also working with partners to address other factors (e.g., social drivers of health) that may contribute to disparities and barriers across the patient care continuum.

2.2 Other Human Rights

Amgen adheres to and expects its suppliers to also adhere to ethical principles for labor, health and safety, environment, management systems and supply transparency. We expect our suppliers to uphold the human rights of their workers and treat them with dignity and respect. We also expect our suppliers to support the protection of internationally recognized human rights and not be complicit in any abuses of human rights.  

Non-Discrimination

Amgen is committed to fostering a diverse workforce and a culture of inclusion. A diverse workforce with varied backgrounds and ideas strengthens our ability to deliver on our mission to serve patients. Unlawful discrimination or harassment violates Amgen's policies, the Amgen Values, undermines our ability to work together in teams and is contrary to our belief in the importance of mutual respect. 

Consistent with Amgen's commitment to equal employment opportunities, we take appropriate action to prevent and correct discrimination that violates our policies. We also expect our suppliers to provide a workplace free of unlawful harassment and discrimination and comply with all applicable laws and regulations. We do not, and we expect that our suppliers do not, unlawfully discriminate for reasons including race, color, age, sex (also including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, physical or mental disability, genetic information, religion, political affiliation, union membership, veteran or marital status, or any other basis protected by applicable law. 

Right to Privacy

At Amgen, we respect the privacy of personal information entrusted to us. Amgen, and parties acting on Amgen's behalf, process various types of personal information about patients, caregivers, consumers, clinical research subjects, healthcare professionals (e.g., physicians or nurse practitioners), Amgen staff members and contractors, and others for a variety of lawful business purposes. The lawful processing of such information is important to Amgen's business activities. We are required by applicable privacy and data protection laws to implement appropriate safeguards to protect personal information. We strive to thoroughly investigate and appropriately address all reported privacy incidents in a prompt manner. 

Freely Chosen Employment

We do not, and expect that our suppliers do not, use forced, bonded, involuntary, slave or indentured labor or involuntary prison labor.

Child Labor and Young Workers

We do not, and expect that our suppliers do not, use child labor. The employment of workers below the age of 18 shall only occur in accordance with applicable law. 

Fair Treatment

We seek to provide, and expect that our suppliers provide, a workplace free of actual or threatened inhumane treatment, including any sexual or other unlawful harassment, sexual abuse, corporal punishment, mental or physical coercion or verbal abuse of workers.

Wages, Benefits and Working Hours

We pay, and expect that our suppliers pay, workers according to applicable wage laws, including minimum wages, overtime hours and mandated benefits.  

Freedom of Association

We encourage, and expect that our suppliers also encourage, open communication and direct engagement with workers to resolve workplace and compensation issues. We respect, and expect suppliers to respect, the rights of workers as set forth in applicable laws, to associate freely, join labor unions, seek representation and join works councils. Workers shall be able to communicate openly with management regarding working conditions without retaliation, threat of reprisal, intimidation or harassment. 

Worker Protection and Safety

We protect, and expect that our suppliers protect, in both the workplace and any company-provided living quarters, workers from overexposure to chemical, biological and physical hazards. We operate, and expect our suppliers to operate, in compliance with all applicable health and safety regulations and have safety management systems in place designed to prevent work-related personal injuries. 

3. Due Diligence Processes

Amgen has robust policies and practices in support of preventing, investigating and remediating workplace matters relating to behaviors and actions that violate our policies, safety, and compliance with laws. We conduct investigations and leverage learnings to influence both internal and external affairs.  Additionally, our Business Conduct Hotline is designed to be available at all times and provides a way to report concerns. Reporters may remain anonymous unless they are from countries where anonymity is discouraged or not permitted by law.  Our policies prohibit any form of retaliation against or intimidation of anyone for their good faith reporting of a concern. 

Amgen is engaged in creating a global supply chain that reflects our mission and values. As such, we expect all third-party partners with whom we engage to conduct their business in a sustainable and ethical manner that is in compliance with applicable laws and regulations and aligned with Amgen's Supplier Code of Conduct. Compliance with our Supplier Code of Conduct is a requirement for all of our third-party partners and is incorporated into all supplier purchase order terms and conditions and contracts. The Supplier Code of Conduct includes ethical, environmental and social considerations, including the other human rights discussed in Section 2.2. Through Amgen's Supplier Sustainability Program, we use a globally recognized third-party sustainability ratings partner to assess our key suppliers across a range of social and environmental topics aligned with our Supplier Code of Conduct, including ethics and labor and human rights. This annual assessment provides Amgen with a basis for identifying and addressing potential sustainability-related risks in our supply chain. We work with our suppliers to prioritize improvement opportunities identified through this sustainability assessment. Amgen also has the right to audit our suppliers against these expectations and to take additional corrective actions when necessary.  

Amgen continues to participate in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative to promote responsible supply chain management and better business conditions across the industry. Through our involvement with the Responsible Health Initiative, Amgen is working to strengthen the sector's approach to supply chain management with a specific focus on environmental and social sustainability. 

4. Governance

The Worldwide Compliance & Business Ethics function oversees Amgen's compliance program, which is driven by Amgen's commitment to conducting business with integrity and in compliance with all applicable laws.  The major features of our compliance program currently include:  

• Oversight by our Board of Directors, including through its Corporate Responsibility and Compliance Committee. 
• A Chief Compliance Officer, who is responsible for making sure that the necessary elements of an effective compliance program are in place. The Chief Compliance Officer also reports to the Board of Directors on compliance matters. 
• A Compliance Committee, which champions Amgen's culture of compliance and business ethics by ensuring that it is the foundation of the company's strategy, goals, and objectives. This Committee is co-chaired by Amgen's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Amgen's Chief Compliance Officer, and is composed of the Operating Team. 
• A Compliance Council, which consists of senior management from each of the company's functions. The Compliance Council serves as a cross-functional forum to discuss, benchmark, advise on, and escalate appropriate compliance topics.
• Written policies and supporting documentation such as our Code of Conduct and our Global Corporate Compliance Policies. 
• Communication of our compliance program requirements through our Code of Conduct, our internal and external websites, and other communication vehicles. 
• Ongoing training and education of staff on our compliance program and its requirements. 
• A Business Conduct Hotline, through which anyone, internal or external to Amgen, can confidentially (where permitted by law) report misconduct without fear of retaliation. 
• Regular monitoring and auditing of compliance program requirements. Results are reported to the Chief Compliance Officer. 
• Timely and appropriate investigations into reported concerns about potential compliance violations. 
• Prompt responses to violations of our policies and steps to prevent recurrence, including applying disciplinary measures where appropriate. 
• A risk-based approach to the design of our compliance program and program activities. 

5. Human Rights Position Statement Governance  

This statement has been reviewed and approved by our cross-functional, executive-level ESG Council and other appropriate executive management.  Please see the Environment, Social and Governance Strategy page on Amgen.com for additional information on Amgen's ESG Governance framework.  

Updated: September 2024

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