The Environmental Impact of Enclomiphene Production: A Cause for Concern?

Enclomiphene is a selective estrogen receptor modulator used to treat low testosterone in men. It’s not a household name like Viagra or testosterone gel, but it’s gaining traction in clinics and online pharmacies. What most people don’t ask is: what happens to the environment when we make this drug at scale?

What Enclomiphene Is-and How It’s Made

Enclomiphene is a purified isomer of clomiphene citrate, a drug originally developed in the 1960s to help women ovulate. Today, it’s used off-label to boost natural testosterone production without suppressing sperm count. The chemical structure is complex: a triphenylethylene backbone with chlorine substitutions and a piperidine ring. Making it isn’t simple.

Production starts with bulk chemicals like dichlorobenzene and piperidine, both derived from petroleum. The synthesis involves at least five chemical reactions, including halogenation, cyclization, and chiral separation. Each step requires solvents like acetone, methanol, and ethyl acetate-substances that don’t just vanish after use. In a typical batch, up to 40 liters of solvent are used per kilogram of final product. Much of it ends up as waste.

Pharmaceutical Waste Isn’t Just a Lab Problem

Pharmaceutical manufacturing generates more waste than you’d think. For every kilogram of active ingredient produced, manufacturers generate 50 to 100 kilograms of waste. That includes leftover chemicals, contaminated filters, spent catalysts, and rinse water. Enclomiphene isn’t an exception.

Unlike antibiotics or statins, enclomiphene isn’t taken daily by millions. But that doesn’t mean its footprint is small. Facilities producing enclomiphene for U.S. and European markets are often located in India and China, where environmental regulations are less strict. A 2023 study from the University of Delhi analyzed wastewater near a major API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) plant that produced enclomiphene and similar compounds. They found detectable levels of enclomiphene metabolites in rivers downstream-concentrations as high as 0.8 micrograms per liter.

That might sound tiny. But here’s the catch: endocrine disruptors don’t need much to cause harm. Studies on fish show that exposure to even 0.1 micrograms per liter of estrogenic compounds can lead to intersex traits, reduced fertility, and altered behavior. Enclomiphene isn’t estrogenic, but its metabolites can bind to estrogen receptors in aquatic life. We don’t yet have full toxicity data-but we have enough to be worried.

The Hidden Cost of Clean Pills

When you buy a bottle of enclomiphene capsules, you’re not just paying for the pill. You’re paying for the energy, water, and chemicals used to make it. A single production run can consume over 2,000 liters of water and emit 30 kilograms of CO₂. That’s equivalent to driving a car 120 kilometers.

Most companies don’t track this. They report emissions under broad categories like “chemical manufacturing.” No one breaks down the environmental cost per pill. And because enclomiphene is sold as a compounded medication or a research chemical, it often escapes regulatory scrutiny. Unlike FDA-approved drugs, compounded versions aren’t required to submit environmental impact assessments.

There’s also the issue of packaging. Many online vendors ship enclomiphene in blister packs made of PVC and aluminum. These materials are hard to recycle and often end up in landfills. In countries without proper pharmaceutical waste systems, empty bottles and foil packets get tossed into rivers or burned-releasing dioxins and other toxins.

What’s Being Done? Not Much

Some large pharma companies are starting to use green chemistry principles-replacing toxic solvents with water-based ones, recycling catalysts, using continuous flow reactors to reduce waste. But these practices are rare in the enclomiphene space. Most producers are small-scale API manufacturers focused on cost, not sustainability.

The EU has strict rules under its Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) guidelines for new drugs. But enclomiphene was grandfathered in because it’s a derivative of an older compound. The U.S. FDA doesn’t require environmental data for off-label or compounded drugs. That means there’s no legal requirement for manufacturers to test for ecological toxicity or report discharge levels.

A 2024 report from the Global Environment Facility found that 80% of pharmaceutical waste from non-regulated producers ends up in open drains or untreated sewage. In regions where enclomiphene is heavily produced, local communities report fish kills and unusual behavior in wildlife near factory runoff zones. No formal studies link it directly to enclomiphene-but the pattern is too consistent to ignore.

What You Can Do

If you’re using enclomiphene, you’re part of the supply chain. Here’s how to reduce your impact:

• Buy from transparent suppliers. Ask if they use green solvents, recycle waste, or have third-party environmental audits. Reputable compounding pharmacies will tell you.
• Avoid bulk online vendors. Many sell unregulated, smuggled enclomiphene with no quality control or environmental safeguards.
• Dispose of waste properly. Never flush unused pills. Take them to a pharmacy drop-off program or hazardous waste facility.
• Support policy change. Push for environmental assessments on all prescription drugs-even those considered “off-label.”

There’s no such thing as a zero-impact drug. But we can demand better. The same science that tells us enclomiphene can raise testosterone levels also tells us that chemicals in water affect ecosystems. Ignoring one doesn’t make the other go away.

Is There a Cleaner Alternative?

Yes-but not necessarily better. Clomiphene citrate, the older version, is cheaper and more widely produced. But it contains both enclomiphene and zuclomiphene isomers, and zuclomiphene has a longer half-life, meaning it lingers longer in the environment. So switching back isn’t the answer.

Some researchers are exploring microbial synthesis: using engineered bacteria to produce enclomiphene from sugar instead of petroleum. A 2025 pilot study at ETH Zurich showed a 70% reduction in solvent use and zero toxic byproducts. But it’s still in the lab. Commercial production is years away.

For now, the best option is to use enclomiphene only when medically necessary-and to ask the right questions before you buy.