Modern slavery and human trafficking statement - 2026
Introduction
This statement is made pursuant to Section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 by Accord Healthcare Ltd and Accord-UK Ltd (collectively, “Accord” or “we”).
Our Board of Directors and senior leadership are committed to preventing slavery and human trafficking in our corporate activities and supply chains.
This statement sets out actions taken by Accord to understand and mitigate potential modern slavery risks affecting our business, and the steps taken to ensure that there is no slavery or human trafficking either in our own business or in our supply chain.
Accord’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
The Intas Group, of which Accord is a part, is a leading pharmaceutical organisation with one of the largest market footprints in Europe among pharmaceuticals companies headquartered in India. Its medicines are sold in over 85 countries worldwide.
Accord continuously strives to ‘make it better’ by placing patients at the centre of everything it does, in line with its mission to improve access to medicines across the world. With one of the most dynamic pipelines in the pharmaceutical industry, Accord has a portfolio of 622 molecules, and an ambitious growth strategy that has enabled the business to continue expanding in both size and scale.
Accord’s business encompasses the development, manufacture and sale of medicinal products to hospitals, community pharmacies, clinical groups, wholesalers and dispensing doctors across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (“EMENA”), as well as other international markets.
Robust processes are put into place to identify and mitigate areas of risk including modern slavery and human trafficking.
Our Policies
Accord maintains a zero-tolerance approach to child labour, the exploitation of young workers, forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking. This commitment is reflected in both the Accord Code of Conduct for Employees and the Accord Code of Conduct for Business Partners.
Accord strictly prohibits the use of child labour in any form and is committed to respecting and protecting children's rights in accordance with ILO Conventions No. 138 (Minimum Age) and No. 182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour), applicable national legislation, and internationally recognised human rights standards.
This commitment extends across Accord's operations, supply chains and business relationships. Accord is committed to identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks relating to child labour and, where incidents or non-compliance are identified, will take appropriate corrective and remedial action. Where relevant, Accord will work collaboratively with business partners to implement effective remediation measures, giving due consideration to the best interests, welfare and long-term protection of an affected child.
Accord expects all suppliers, contractors, service providers and other business partners to uphold these standards and to conduct their operations in a manner consistent with the principles, requirements and expectations set out in the Accord Code of Conduct for Business Partners, or equivalent standards. Compliance with these requirements forms an integral part of Accord's business relationships and supplier engagement processes. Similarly, all Accord employees are expected to comply with applicable policies and procedures and to uphold the standards set out in the Accord Code of Conduct for Employees.
Where a business partner is found to be in breach of the Accord Code of Conduct for Business Partners, is unable to comply with its requirements, or conducts business in a manner that is inconsistent with Accord’s policies and values, Accord reserves the right to take appropriate action. Such action may include requiring corrective measures, conducting enhanced due diligence, suspending business activities, or terminating the contractual relationship where necessary.
Our Supply Chain
Accord procures medicinal products, pharmaceutical ingredients, packaging components, and a wide range of goods and services from third-party suppliers. Our supply chain supports the development, manufacture, and distribution of medicines across our markets.
Accord seeks to work with suppliers that share our commitment to ethical business practices, respect for human rights, and compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. We expect our suppliers to uphold these standards within their own operations and, where appropriate throughout their supply chains.
Due Diligence
Accord’s primary due diligence mechanism is its risk based 'Know Your Business Partner' (“KYBP”) process. This process is conducted prior to onboarding new suppliers within the scope of the KYBP Policy and is refreshed periodically, typically every one to three years, depending on the supplier's risk profile.
The KYBP process includes a review of the supplier’s modern slavery and human rights risks, which may involve:
assessment of the supplier’s modern slavery statement, where publication is required by applicable legislation;
review of publicly available information relating to legal, regulatory, ethical, labour, or human rights concerns;
screening against relevant sanctions, enforcement, and adverse media databases, and
completion of questionnaires requesting information about the supplier’s operations, governance arrangements, ownership structure, and key personnel.
In addition, Accord’s Internal Audit function conducts periodic reviews of selected suppliers and business processes to assess compliance with contractual obligations and adherence to Accord’s standards and expectations.
Where appropriate, Accord may provide guidance and support to business partners seeking to strengthen their compliance programmes and control frameworks.
Training
Accord recognises that employee awareness is an important element in identifying and preventing modern slavery risks.
To support this objective, Accord provides compliance training that includes modern slavery and human rights-related content. Training is available to employees and is designed to increase awareness of modern slavery risks, warning signs, reporting mechanisms, and the responsibilities of individuals in preventing unethical practices within our business and supply chain.
Training materials are reviewed periodically to ensure they remain aligned with relevant legal requirements and emerging best practice.
Assessment of modern slavery risk
Accord considers the risk of modern slavery within its directly employed workforce to be low. This assessment reflects the highly regulated nature of the pharmaceutical industry, the skilled composition of our workforce, and the policies, procedures, and controls that support ethical employment practices.
However, we recognise that the risk of modern slavery may be higher within certain areas of our supply chain, particularly where services are labour-intensive or involve outsourced workforces. Examples include transportation, logistics, warehousing, facilities management and certain support services.
We also acknowledge that risks may be elevated in jurisdictions where labour protections, human rights safeguards, or regulatory enforcement mechanisms are less developed.
Continuous Improvement
Accord continues to strengthen its third-party compliance framework and its approach to identifying and mitigating modern slavery risks.
A key element of this framework is the Accord Code of Conduct for Business Partners, which sets out the ethical, compliance, labour, human rights and business integrity standards expected of all suppliers and other business partners. The certification programme for medicinal suppliers is substantially complete and remains subject to finalisation for a limited number of suppliers. Participating suppliers either formally acknowledge and confirm compliance with the Accord Code of Conduct for Business Partners or confirm adherence to equivalent standards.
In addition, Accord incorporates compliance and human rights expectations into its standard contractual arrangements where appropriate and possible and strives to promote adherence to these standards throughout its supplier relationships.
Accord remains committed to maintaining awareness of modern slavery risks and will continue to provide training, guidance and communications to relevant employees and stakeholders on modern slavery, human rights and related compliance topics.
To support the effectiveness of its programme, Accord monitors a number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), including:
the percentage of medicinal suppliers that have agreed to comply with the Accord Business Partner Code of Conduct or equivalent standards;
the completion of modern slavery risk assessments as part of the onboarding process for relevant suppliers;
the completion of enhanced due diligence measures for suppliers identified as presenting elevated risk; and
the timely investigation and closure of reported concerns relating to modern slavery, human trafficking, or related human rights issues.
Accord is committed to continually reviewing and enhancing its KPIs, monitoring processes, and reporting mechanisms in line with evolving regulatory expectations and recognised best practice.
Further steps
Accord will continue to review and strengthen its processes to identify, assess and mitigate the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking within its operations and supply chain.
During the next reporting period, Accord intends to continue enhancing its Third-Party Risk Management Framework, increasing awareness of human rights risks, and further embedding modern slavery considerations into supplier governance and due diligence processes.
Oversight of these activities will continue to be provided by senior leadership, with a focus on continuous improvement, compliance with applicable legislation, and alignment with recognised best practice standards.
Reporting and investigating concerns
Accord employees, business partners and other third parties may raise concerns relating to actual or suspected misconduct, including matters involving modern slavery, human trafficking, labour exploitation, or other human rights concerns.
All reports will be treated seriously and managed through a dedicated, impartial and confidential process. Concerns may be raised through the individual’s usual Accord contact or via the Accord Speak Up reporting channel.
Accord investigates reports of potential misconduct and takes appropriate action where concerns are substantiated.
For the financial year ended 31st March 2026, Accord did not receive any reports relating to modern slavery or human trafficking.
Approval process
This statement has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes Accord's modern slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ended 31 March 2026.
This statement has been reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors of Accord Healthcare Ltd and Accord-UK Ltd.
Stephen Ford - Director - Accord Healthcare Ltd
Jamie Sparrow - Director - Accord-UK Ltd
Date of Statement: September 2026
Our next statement will follow the year ending 31st March 2027.