Oneness Biotech continues to adhere to the company’s operating principles and uphold good business integrity. From top management to the entry level employees, from the operation management to the daily business processing, it has high standards of self-requirement, and achieves ethical corporate management. In 2023, Oneness Biotech did not violate any laws or regulations related to the environment, human rights, labor, or corporate governance. As Oneness Biotech implements effective control measures related to legal compliance, there was no major violation of laws and regulations in corporate governance, biotechnology & pharmaceuticals, environment, and labor from 2019 to 2023. At the same time, internal audit has not found any major non-conformity, either.
Oneness Biotech’s Education and Training on “Legal Compliance”
Note: The course content for 2023 includes topics such as insider trading prevention, trade secrets, personal data leakage cases, and protective practices, among others.
Code of Business Conduct
Oneness Biotech values ethical corporate management, upholds compliance with laws and regulations, and formulates the “Ethical Corporate Management Best Practice Principles,” “Codes of Ethical Conduct” and “Procedures for Ethical Management and Guidelines for Conduct,” and other relevant internal regulations for directors, managers and all employees to follow and implement the ethical corporate management philosophy within the company. At the same time, we also disclose the “Ethical Corporate Management Best Practice Principles,” “Codes of Ethical Conduct” and “Procedures for Ethical Management and Guidelines for Conduct” on the company’s official website for stakeholders to make inquiries, and set up multiple communication channels and reporting channels for stakeholders to inquire.
Keys to Ethical Corporate Management Best Practice Principles |
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Keys to Codes of Ethical Conduct |
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Human Resources Department, ESG team and all department manager work together to list out the conducts that Oneness employee should abide by in the dimensions of corporate operations, products and services, employees, business partners, society and environment. Q&A sections are also provided from colleagues’ point of view, to let all colleagues have a more accurate understanding of employee code of conduct and put it into practice in the daily work.
Marketing and Sales Code of Conduct
Oneness has formulated the “Marketing and Sales Code of Conduct” based on the WHO Ethical criteria for medicinal drug promotion. It is required that marketing and sales personnel must comply with relevant laws and regulations and recognize ethical standards of the pharmaceutical industry. All marketing and sales activities must comply with the “Pharmaceutical Affairs Act,” “Pharmaceutical Affairs Act Enforcement Rules” and other drug and medical-related regulations, and shall be conducted in an ethical and responsible manner. All marketing and sales personnel must complete the training on the “Marketing and Sales Code of Conduct.” In 2023, there was no incident of corruption, bribery or endangering of customer privacy.
- All marketing and sales activities must comply with relevant laws, regulations and ethical standards.
- Marketing and sales personnel shall not provide personal benefits to medical personnel.
- The interaction with healthcare and other related personnel shall be based on patient welfare and appropriate medical treatment to ensure proper interaction.
- The content of product marketing is based on scientific evidence and is presented truthfully and clearly, and should not mislead healthcare personnel.
- Drug labeling, packaging, information, marketing documents, etc. must be consistent with the indications and package inserts approved by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
- The Company regularly organizes education and training to educate relevant personnel to sell medicines properly; and shares share medical information with medical providers and patients in an open, transparent, and timely manner to avoid information asymmetry.
- The Company conducts Ethics Audit, and the internal audit unit regularly reports the audit result to the audit committee as well as the board of directors. Major violation cases are reported immediately to the members of the audit committee and transparently disclosed in the sustainability report.
Whistleblowing Policy and Whistleblower Protection
Oneness Biotech has established a whistleblowing mechanism that provides reporting channels through which people inside or outside the Company can report violations of the law, of the Codes of Ethical Conduct, or of the Ethical Corporate Management Best Practice Principles. When a violation of the law, of company policies or systems, or of the Codes of Ethical Conduct that may cause or has caused damage to the Company’s rights and interests (e.g., fraud, misappropriation of company assets, leakage of company secrets, receipt of improper benefits, or other misconduct) is discovered by any of the Company’s employees or an external person, a report can be filed by regular mail or email:
- Letter: Whistleblowing Mailbox, 35F, No. 66, Sec. 1, Zhongxiao W. Rd., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei City 100, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- Email: Oneness_Audit@onenessbio.com.tw
If a reported case involves a Director/senior managerial officer or a major violation such that the Company’s reputation may be or has been seriously impaired, the Company will investigate the case and report to the corresponding functional committee, i.e., the “Audit Committee”, under the Board of Directors, and the reported case, the investigation process, the investigation result, and the related documents will be recorded and archived.
The Company will register and investigate any reported case and protect the whistleblower according to the “Whistleblowing Regulations”, ensuring that the whistleblower will not be dismissed or demoted, have their salary reduced, have the rights and interests they enjoy as prescribed by the law or their contract harmed, or suffer from other adverse personal action as a result of the case. Also, the Company is responsible for the confidentiality of the identity of the whistleblower, the content of the case, and the investigation procedures. Information sufficient to identify the whistleblower shall not be leaked.
In addition, the Company shall announce the contents of the Whistleblowing Regulations on an internal information platform from time to time, and encourage employees to report any suspected or discovered violations of laws, regulations, or the Codes of Ethical Conduct through the reporting channels.
Internal Audit
In order to ensure that the auditors carry out the audit work in a fair and impartial manner, Oneness has set up an Audit Office under the Board of Directors as an independent audit unit and shall appoint appropriate number of qualified persons as full-time internal auditors according to its business size, business condition, management requirements, and the provisions of other applicable laws and regulations.
With auditors continuously monitoring the company’s implementation of various operating systems, the company has established good governance practices and risk control mechanisms to create a sustainable business environment. In 2023, the Audit Office carried out a total of 101 audit projects, and there were no major non-conformities. All minor non-conformities have been improved within the time frame.
※The above content is taken from the ESG Report