Ethics and Responsibility
At argenx, we are on a journey together to achieve the unthinkable. We are all working hard to build an integrated immunology company and reach patients. And in doing so, we are committed to doing things the right way, the “argenx Way”. When each of us acts with honesty and integrity, we gain the trust of our colleagues, patients and communities.
Acting the “argenx Way” reflects our core values: a way of working that celebrates Innovation, Co-creation, Excellence, Humility, and Empowerment.
As co-owners of the company, we are all dedicated to and responsible for its success. Each of us contribute to our reputation by living our core values every day and making the best choices for argenx and the many people we serve.
You are accountable for your personal actions, and such accountability for adhering to our company’s standards and expectations also reflects on your colleagues, argenx, and the communities we serve.
This is important because a culture that is embedded in honesty and integrity will enable you to acknowledge mistakes without fear of blame and to work to reflect, learn and move forward.
Our expectation is that you will promptly raise any concerns or ask any questions you may have regarding issues, including violations or potential violations of argenx policy, by notifying your manager, Human Resources, Legal, Compliance or the argenx COMPASS Helpline.
Our Philosophy on ESG
At argenx, our commitment to ESG is not just about satisfying a requirement.
It is about measuring our progress as a business based on core components that will sustain us on our path to be an integrated, immunology company. Our mission sits at the intersection of critical patient need and breakthrough science.
We aim to operate in a way that impacts the key stakeholders of this mission: patients and their supporters, our employees, our research collaborators, and the broader community. We use the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards as a framework of reference to report our metrics and initiatives. Instead of adhering strictly to, and reporting only metrics within a specified reporting framework for ESG, we have opted to focus our reporting on the key metrics and initiatives that best illustrate our company DNA and how we bring our core values to life.
At the end of the report, we have included reference tables to help find certain metrics throughout this report, including the metrics compatible with the SASB framework.
argenx Compliance Program
At argenx, we build our culture from the collective power of the team and the knowledge that together, we are better.
We align our personal growth with the shared goals of the organization to maintain a culture of compliance and integrity.
The purpose of our Compliance Program is (1) to prevent or detect and remediate violations of laws, rules, regulations, as well as the argenx Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, policies and procedures; and (2) to promote a culture of the highest ethics within the organization.
Our Compliance Program is aligned with the Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) communication “Compliance Program Guidance for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers.”
The argenx Compliance Program consists of the following elements of an effective compliance program:
Governance
argenx has appointed a Head of Global Compliance and established a Corporate Compliance Committee to identify, manage, risk and oversee the overall compliance program.
Written Standards
argenx has established policies and procedures, including our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, which articulate our fundamental principles and values and provides a framework for ethical conduct within our organization.
Education and Training
argenx has a training program to ensure employees are trained on the responsibilities of their job and relevant laws and regulations.
Internal Lines of Communication
argenx actively fosters dialogue between management and employees. Our goal is for all employees to know to whom to turn when seeking answers to questions or reporting possible violations of company policies or procedures.
Auditing and Monitoring
The argenx Compliance Program includes monitoring and auditing to evaluate adherence to argenx’s policies and procedures.
Responding to Potential Violations
When argenx becomes aware of potential violations of applicable laws, rules, regulations, or company policies and procedures, the company will promptly investigate.
Disciplinary and Corrective Action
argenx will work to determine the root cause of a substantiated violations. To ensure the matter is corrected the company will utilize disciplinary action and/or remediated process gaps.
Interactions with the Healthcare Community
Our work with HCPs, and academic and scientific leaders enables us to discover, investigate, and bring therapies to patients—achieving the unthinkable—changing lives.
As we navigate this journey, we have a responsibility to educate HCPs about our therapeutic developments and the use, safety, and efficacy of our medicines.
We are committed to improving the lives of people suffering from rare diseases and recognize the unmet needs in communities. We provide financial support to POs to carry forward their missions, raising awareness and increasing treatment options and access to those in need.
We conduct all interactions with the Healthcare Community with the utmost integrity, scrupulously adhering to government and industry body regulations and enforcing our own strict internal guidelines.
We transparently disclose payments and other transfers of value in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and industry guidelines.
Click below to visit our Transparency & Disclosure page to learn more about these disclosures.
Declaration Clause for California
argenx hereby declares that, to the best of our knowledge, information and belief, and based upon our good-faith understanding of the statutory requirements, we have established a Comprehensive Compliance Program that is in material compliance with the requirements of California Health and Safety Code §§ 119400-119402.
While argenx’s Comprehensive Compliance Program cannot completely eliminate the possibility that an individual employee will engage in improper conduct, our program is reasonably designed to prevent and detect violations of applicable laws, rules, and regulations, as well as our own internal policies and procedures.