Social Responsibility
The social impact of its activities is one of the pillars of the Clodomiro Picado Institute, in its characterization as a public entity belonging to the University of Costa Rica. This is the reason why the subjects of social responsibility are well addressed among its important research, production, teaching, and social action activities.
Social demands are covered in the scope of research and production; these are not undertaken with a focus on of profitability and earnings, but on the needs of the vulnerable populations because of their production activities and geographic location. The offer of therapeutic antivenom serums, the generation of knowledge through scientific research, and the education of society through lectures and workshops are services offered by the organization oriented towards social benefits. Furthermore, students and collaborators are favored by the academic and professional training they gain from the CPI.
Tackling a public health problem is a fundamental issue also covered by the development of education, which increases academic training in the different professional fields related to ophidism. The international cooperation activities developed by the Institute are also a part of this effort to have an impact on the public health of other countries and vulnerable populations who do not have access to adequate serums or do not have the production or knowledge platform to generate them.
In terms of the administration of its activities, the Institute is organized with both, a philosophical and material structure that manages and attends to the needs of these important activities. The development of a quality policy aims to ensure adequate controls to comply with national and international standards for the medical products it manufactures. In the environmental scope, the Institute follows guidelines of waste management, reduction of water and energy consumption, and air emissions to minimize its impact. The Institute also manages a lightning rod system, and other projects with a positive environmental impact, like composting, microorganisms from mountainous regions and biodiversity traceability applied to species with a degree of endangerment. These initiatives earned the CPI the Environmental Award of the University of Costa Rica in 2016 and 2017, for its efforts in this subject.
In relation to the interested parties, the CPI has identified its map and the impacts and links it holds with each one of the internal and external groups, which allows it to fulfill its obligations as a responsible public entity.
The economic impact of the Institute includes job opportunities for collaborators and tax contributions, which are the foundations of our national wealth. Furthermore, the resources obtained from the national and international sale of antivenom serums make possible the reinvestment of resources for its important activities.
ISO 9001-2015
The constant quest for excellence in all its activities established the path for the Clodomiro Picado Institute since its beginnings. In 2012, its quality management system was certified with the ISO-9001:2008 standard, so as to implement a quality management system for the processes to ensure continuous improvement, and in 2016 this standard is supported with the INTE/ISO 9001:2015 standard certification, by the Technical Standard Institute of Costa Rica (INTECO, for is acronym in Spanish), which guarantees the quality of the management and administration of its products, as well as the attention given to its users.
The assessment and auditing procedures include a complete scrutiny of processes like user support, regulatory requirements, logistics, and quality of research procedures in subjects like biomedicine, biotechnology and biology, as well as the social application of its results. Given the specificity of the studies of the Institute, the accreditation implemented assessment activities in the laboratories and installations at the CPI.
It is essential for the Institute to follow the line of continuous improvement and permanent accreditation to guarantee the quality of the antivenoms produced, which are sold throughout Central America, some countries in the Caribbean, South America and Africa. In fact, it is estimated that in its 46 years of existence, about 250 thousand patients bitten by snakes have used antivenom serums produced by the Institute.
Policy
Guarantee the quality of the scientific and biotechnological research processes as well as the teaching, social action, and production of immunobiologicals to satisfy the needs of its customers, through the continuous improvement of its processes.
