NFRD

Introduction to the NFRD

The NFRD requirements, applicable to argenx are included in Article 29a of Directive 2013/34/EU (Accounting Directive). Article 29a of the Accounting Directive is implemented in Dutch law under Article 391 of Book 2 of the DCC in the Decree on the contents of the management report (Besluit inhoud bestuursverslag), in the Decree on the establishment of further provisions on the content of the annual report (Besluit tot vaststelling van nadere voorschriften omtrent de inhoud van het jaarverslag) and in the Decree on the publication of non-financial information (Besluit bekendmaking niet-financiële informatie).

The NFRD requires ‘large companies’ to provide information on how they address and manage social and environmental challenges. In particular, companies are required to report on social, employee and environmental matters, human rights, bribery and anti-corruption, as well as board diversity.

Compliance with the NFRD

On the basis of the above-mentioned Decrees, the Company is required to publish non-financial information in (consolidated) non-financial statements. To this end, the table below provides for the required disclosures.

Social and employee matters

Subtopic: A brief description of the undertaking’s business model

Disclosure: At argenx, we are on a journey together to achieve the unthinkable. We are all working hard to build an integrated, immunology company improving the lives of patients. As we continue to scale up the business to achieve this vision, it is critical that we do so with integrity and passion. When each of us acts with honesty and integrity, we gain the trust of our colleagues, patients and communities. We are dedicated to fostering a workplace where all people feel free to share their thoughts and ideas. And we insist on building and maintaining a safe and secure work environment, where no one is subject to unnecessary risk. We commit to developing our people based on their strengths, to the benefit of the broader team. We comply with international labor standards as well as applicable labor and employment laws, wherever we operate. This includes prohibiting child labor and forced labor, upholding the right to freedom of association, and eliminating discrimination at work. When selecting our business associates, we strive to work with third parties who share our commitment to respecting and improving human rights, and we do not conduct business with any individual or company that participates in forced, bonded or indentured labor or involuntary prison labor, the exploitation of children (including child labor), harsh or inhumane treatment or threat of any such treatment or any form of modern slavery or human trafficking. We believe open communication is critical to guaranteeing a positive work environment and our ultimate success. We understand that to make a difference we need to foster a culture of openness, where colleagues are encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas because diversity of thought leads to and empowers innovation. We actively listen to our colleagues and make sure all voices are heard.

Subtopic: A description of the policies pursued, including due diligence processes

Disclosure: Our Code of Conduct reflects our core values: a way of working that celebrates innovation, co-creation, excellence, humility, and empowerment. Our Code of Conduct translates the core values into a set of clear standards to help guide our conduct as we navigate the complexities of the highly regulated and competitive global marketplace in which we operate as we work to become an independent, fully integrated, and global immunology company. Our commitment to the Code of Conduct enables our core business of innovation and our culture of collaboration. We are all dedicated to and responsible for its success. Each of us contributes to our reputation by living our core values every day and making the best choices for argenx and the many people we serve. Our Code of Conduct sets out core principles for the way we commit to important employee and social matters, including our commitment to maintaining the highest scientific and ethical standards in our research and development activities and complying with all internationally accepted standards that apply to our clinical trials, including the ICH Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice and the ethical principles articulated in the Declaration of Helsinki, as well as applicable local laws and regulations. We monitor compliance with these standards through a number of policies which we regularly train relevant employees on. We operate a personal development program in which we encourage all employees to participate. We operate short-term and long-term incentive plans to encourage attraction and retention of qualified personnel. We take a stance against all forms of discrimination and commit to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion as set out in our Code of Conduct and in our diversity, equity and inclusion policy. We encourage respect of the individual, their integrity and their dignity, by ensuring that the working environment and relations between colleagues are free of discrimination and harassment, whether based on race, religion, color, political convictions, sex, language, pregnancy, ethnic or national origin, civil state, social status, sexual orientation, handicap, age or otherwise. We will protect any colleague who in good faith believes they are victims of harassment or discrimination. This includes actions that can reasonably be considered offensive, intimidating or discriminatory, including sexual harassment, power harassment and bullying, whether physical, verbal or visual. We encourage colleagues to speak up against any incident that could be viewed as harassment or discrimination and to support those affected. Once informed, we will take all measures required to stop any such behavior and to deal appropriately with the person or persons involved. The matter will be treated with discretion and diligence. We strictly prohibit retaliation or retribution against anyone who in good faith reports a concern about harassment, discrimination, or other issues, or cooperates with an investigation into alleged harassment and discrimination, even if the initial concern is ultimately determined to be unfounded, as is further set out in our Speak-up Policy.

Subtopic: The outcome of those policies

Disclosure: All employees have accepted and are trained (and retrained annually) on our Code of Conduct, and accepting, and committing to, the contents thereof is expected of all newcomers to argenx. At the date of this Annual Report, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, we have not identified any material breaches of our Code of Conduct in relation to social or employee matters.

Subtopic: Principal risks

Disclosure: Our employees and relevant third parties may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Our future growth and ability to compete depends in part on our ability to retain key personnel and recruit additional qualified personnel.

Subtopic: How these risks are managed

Disclosure: In order to maintain oversight over compliance with the our Code of Conduct and other company policies including in relation to potential violations in the area of employee and social matters, and to increase compliance and ensure our colleagues know where to go with questions on the Code of Conduct and its application, we have established the argenx COMPASS Helpline, where our employees can raise any concerns they may have regarding potential violations of our policy confidentially or anonymously (to the extent allowed by law). We revised our Whistleblower Policy into our new Speak-up Policy to comply with Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union EU law, which policies (jointly our Speak Up and Anti-retaliation Policy) enables and encourages our employees to speak up and report any suspected violation of our Code of Conduct, and to protect employees from retaliation. We have set-up a specific helpline reachable through different channels including by phone, also anonymously, to report any suspected potential violations. Also to mitigate the risks of non-compliance with our Code of Conduct in relation to employee and social matters, we require all new employees to confirm their acceptance and adherence to the Code of Conduct and we train existing and new employees annually on our Code of Conduct and our Speak-up Policy. We offer competitive remuneration packages and share-based incentives in the form of an Equity Incentive Plan in which all employees are offered the opportunity to participate. We perform periodic benchmark analyses with an external service provider to ensure the competitiveness of the compensation offered to our key personnel in comparison to other (reference group) companies. We pay close attention to creating an environment that supports the further development of the talents of our key people, including through our personal development plan program.

Subtopic: Non-financial key performance indicators

Disclosure: At the date of this Annual Report, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, we have not identified any material breaches of our Code of Conduct in relation to social or employee matters. Our voluntary employee turnover rate for the fiscal year 2022 is 4.27% and our involuntary employee turnover rate for the fiscal year 2022 was 2.25%, both numbers we believe to be below industry averages.

Environmental matters

Subtopic: A brief description of the undertaking’s business model

Disclosure: argenx is dedicated to conducting its business in a safe and environmentally sustainable manner as part of our commitment to not only improve the lives of patients we hope to serve, but also to positively impact our colleagues, business partners, and surrounding communities as well. In an effort to do this we:

• comply with environmental laws and regulations that are related to our specific work and responsibilities.
• encourage colleagues to respect the environment and natural resources available to us by taking sustainability steps like limiting energy use, reducing waste, and recycling.
• have awareness and training programs to teach our employees how to deal with different waste systems.

We are committed to expanding and developing our sustainability initiatives in the future. Given the present state of scientific knowledge, it is not possible to examine the complex interactions in a living organism solely by the use of modeling or performing experiments in cell cultures and tissue samples. Research using living animals remains essential in the discovery, development and production of new medicines. We cannot replace all animal experiments in the foreseeable future, but we continuously review the welfare and use of animals and develop procedures that reduce or replace animal experiments. If we engage in research using live animals, we follow all applicable laws and regulations, and argenx policies including our Animal Welfare Policy.

Subtopic: A description of the policies pursued, including due diligence processes

Disclosure: We do not currently have an environmental policy. We conduct our activities within the environmental regulatory framework set out by those jurisdictions in which we operate in and have obtained all required environmental licenses and permits. With the goal of mitigating the risk of failure to obtain any required environmental permits or licenses, or of losing granted permits or licenses we may need to operate our business, we regularly evaluate the requirements of such environmental permits and licenses to ensure continued compliance. We commit to treating research animals in a humane and responsible manner, in accordance with Code of Conduct and our Animal Welfare Policy. Our Animal Welfare Policy requires us to perform due diligence on third party collaborators who engage in research activities on our behalf, by reviewing their external certification on this topic (such as Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International certification) or if they have not (yet) been certified, by performing our own confirmatory due diligence through reviews and/or interviews or written questions and answers to gain comfort that the standards applied are at the same level as our internal standards on this topic. Compliance, audits and certification of all third parties is overseen by a management-level Animal Welfare Committee, who are responsible for organizing regular lab visits in the EU. Where we are unable to perform in-person audits at our U.S.-based academic collaborators, or elsewhere, our audits are performed virtually.

Subtopic: The outcome of those policies

Disclosure: All employees have accepted and are trained (and retrained annually) on our Code of Conduct, and accepting, and committing to, the contents thereof is expected of all newcomers to argenx. At the date of this Annual Report, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, we have not identified any material breaches of our Code of Conduct in relation to environmental matters.

Subtopic: Principal risks

Disclosure: We have assessed our activities to date and did not identify specific risks of material environmental violations and as such we have not identified environmental risks as principal risks for argenx. Our primary research and development activities take place in our facilities in Zwijnaarde, Belgium. For these activities we require, and have obtained, the necessary environmental and biohazard permits from the responsible governments, required by us for the manner in which we use said facilities. We may become exposed to liability and substantial expenses in connection with environmental compliance or remediation activities. Our personnel could breach the animal welfare commitments set out in our Code of Conduct or our Animal Welfare Policy.

Subtopic: How these risks are managed

Disclosure: We comply with environmental laws and regulations that are related to our specific work and responsibilities and offer training to our employees depending on their area of work. In addition, we have a dedicated safety advisor and facility manager supervising compliance with environmental law on our premises. All employees receive health and safety training relevant to their specific job role. We train all personnel involved in research activities with live animals, on our Animal Welfare Policy. The COMPASS Helpline enables us to maintain oversight over compliance with our Code of Conduct and other Company policies including in relation to potential violations in the area of environmental matters, and to increase compliance and ensure our colleagues know where to go with questions on the Code of Conduct and its application. Employees can raise any concerns they may have regarding potential violations of our Code of Conduct confidentially or anonymously (to the extent allowed by law) through our COMPASS Helpline, including in relation to violations of our Code of Conduct on environmental matters or in relation to violations of our Animal Welfare Policy.

Subtopic: Non-financial key performance indicators

Disclosure: At the date of this Annual Report, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, we have not identified any material breaches of our Code of Conduct in relation to environmental matters, and we have not identified any material breaches of our Animal Welfare Policy.

Matters with respect to human rights

Subtopic: A brief description of the undertaking’s business model

Disclosure: 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. As we continue to scale up the business to achieve this vision, it is critical that we do so with integrity and passion. When each of us acts with honesty and integrity, we gain the trust of our colleagues, patients and communities.

Subtopic: A description of the policies pursued, including due diligence processes

Disclosure: We commit to compliance with international labor standards as well as applicable labor and employment laws, wherever we operate. This includes prohibiting child labor and forced labor, upholding the right to freedom of association, and eliminating discrimination at work. When selecting our business associates, we strive to work with third parties who share our commitment to respecting and improving human rights, and we do not conduct business with any individual or company that participates in forced, bonded or indentured labor or involuntary prison labor, the exploitation of children (including child labor), harsh or inhumane treatment or threat of any such treatment or any form of modern slavery or human trafficking. Our Code of Conduct includes our commitment to respecting the human rights of all people and ensure fairness in the workspace. All our personnel is trained annually on our Code of Conduct including its provisions on respecting human rights. Accepting, and committing to, the contents of the aforementioned Code of Conduct is expected of all newcomers to argenx.

Subtopic: The outcome of those policies

Disclosure: In fiscal year were no alleged breaches of our Code of Conduct on the topics of human rights or alleged forced labor or child labor.

Subtopic: Principal risks

Disclosure: We have assessed our activities to date and did not identify specific risks of violations of human rights in relation to our business activities and as such we have not identified the risk of violations of human rights as principal risk for argenx.

Subtopic: How these risks are managed

Disclosure: In order to maintain oversight over compliance with the our Code of Conduct and other company policies including in relation to potential violations in the area of human rights, and to increase compliance and ensure our colleagues know where to go with questions on the Code of Conduct and its application, we have established the argenx COMPASS Helpline, where our employees can raise any concerns they may have regarding potential violations of our policy confidentially or anonymously (to the extent allowed by law), including in relation to violations of our Code of Conduct on human rights related topics.

Subtopic: Non-financial key performance indicators

Disclosure: In fiscal year 2022 there were no alleged breaches of our Code of Conduct on the topics of human rights or alleged forced labor or child labor.

Matters with respect to anti-corruption and bribery

Subtopic: A brief description of the undertaking’s business model

Disclosure: We work with healthcare professionals for the benefit of all. The spirit of co-creation is one of our core values. To provide better, more effective products for patients, we regularly engage healthcare professionals to provide various services in support of our business. The services provided by healthcare professionals include clinical investigations, advisory services, and speaking engagements at argenx events.

Subtopic: A description of the policies pursued, including due diligence processes

Disclosure: At argenx, we promote our products ethically and honestly, and only for the uses for which they have been approved. We believe that healthcare professionals and patients have the right to decide the most appropriate treatment options available based on truthful, accurate, and balanced product information that is supported by scientific evidence and is consistent with approved product labeling. We only use promotional material and other product information that have been approved through our internal review process. When acting in a promotional capacity, colleagues and agents of argenx are required to always give a balanced presentation of our products, including relevant safety information. Whenever argenx hires a healthcare professional as a consultant, advisor, investigator, speaker, or in any other capacity, we require the following requirements are met:

• There must be a documented legitimate business need for the services on the part of argenx. Business relationships must not be created as a disguised means to induce or reward healthcare professionals to prescribe, purchase, or recommend argenx products.
• The selection of healthcare professionals must be based on their qualifications, expertise, capabilities, experience and other appropriate criteria directly related to the identified need.
• A written contract must be executed prior to the commencement of the services that accurately describes the nature of the services and the basis for remuneration.
• All compensation to healthcare professionals must reflect fair market value for the services provided.
• Meetings or events organized or sponsored by argenx involving healthcare professionals’ services must be held at appropriate venues that are conducive to the purpose of the meeting or event.

All arrangements (or reimbursement of expenses) for travel, lodging, and meals that are provided to healthcare professionals relating to their performance of services must be consistent with Company policies. We ensure that that we avoid even the perception of improper influence by refraining from offering gifts or other items of value.

Subtopic: The outcome of those policies

Disclosure: In fiscal year 2022, we did not identify any breaches of our Code of Conduct in relation to anti-corruption or antibribery matters.

Subtopic: Principal risks

Disclosure: We may be subject to healthcare laws, regulation and enforcement. Our failure to comply with these laws could harm our results of operations and financial conditions. Because many of our healthcare professional are also our customers, there is the risk that patients and others might perceive potential conflicts of interest, even when none exist. Failure to comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations may lead to enforcement including civil and administrative penalties, fines or criminal prosecution and may cause us to incur significant costs and harm to our business and reputation.

Subtopic: How these risks are managed

Disclosure: To avoid even the suggestion of a conflict of interest, we conduct all interactions with healthcare professionals with the utmost integrity, scrupulously adhering to government and industry body regulations, as well as enforcing our own strict internal guidelines. We have designed and implemented a targeted compliance program consisting of a body of codes, policies and procedures, which we actively and regularly train all relevant personnel on. We have recruited a dedicated legal and compliance team to support and monitor compliance with relevant rules and regulations. Furthermore, all employees are trained annually on our Code of Conduct, including its provisions on anti-bribery and anti-corruption. Accepting, and committing to, the contents thereof is expected of all newcomers to argenx. We established the argenx COMPASS Helpline in order to maintain oversight over compliance with our Code of Conduct and other of our company policies including in relation to potential violations in the area of anti-bribery and anti-corruption, and to increase compliance and ensure our colleagues know where to go with questions on the Code of Conduct and its application. Employees can raise any concerns they may have regarding potential violations of our policy confidentially or anonymously (to the extent allowed by law), including in relation to violations of our Code of Conduct on human rights related topics.

Subtopic: Non-financial key performance indicators

Disclosure: In fiscal year 2022, we did not identify any breaches of our Code of Conduct in relation to anti-corruption or antibribery matters.

Insight into our diversity, equity and inclusion policy and practices

Subtopic: A description of the policies pursued, including due diligence processes

Disclosure: We value diversity among our colleagues as an integral component in building a sustainable growth platform. We believe that a diverse workforce enhances our overall performance and success. We take pride in creating and sustaining a culture and environment where each of us can excel. We bring together people with diverse backgrounds experiences and functional expertise. By doing so, we broaden the scope of ideas and creativity essential to developing and delivering innovative therapies to patients. Acknowledging and benefiting from different perspectives promotes diversity of thought and empowers innovation. It also contributes to our commitment to improve lives of patients, wherefore we need teams with a healthy mix of contrasting perspectives and backgrounds that reflect the diverse communities we serve. We recognize that our people are our greatest strength. Fostering an inclusive work environment where everyone feels safe and encouraged to contribute leads to better work outcomes and supports high levels of employee commitment and retention. We aspire to be a consciously global company. Our success is built on, and dependent on true collaboration in cross-functional and often cross-regional teams in which open communication is encouraged and safeguarded. Everyone has a voice and is encouraged to contribute to the benefit of our common goals, irrespective of race, ethnicity, age, gender or cultural background. Good ideas as well as real concerns are taken seriously, regardless of who brings them forward.

Subtopic: How our diversity, equity and inclusion policy is being implemented.

Disclosure: Our diversity, equity and inclusion policy is implemented in the way we recruit, develop and promote our employees and Board of Directors. We value our fair, inclusive recruitment process, which is standardized across the organization and focuses on pre-identified ‘what counts’ factors. The process involves a diverse group of colleagues from across the organization, who are provided with training to recognize any existing biases. Recruitment decisions are based on a group evaluation of available candidates, ensuring different perspectives. Our onboarding program is designed to promote inclusion by building a strong social fabric across teams, functions and geographic locations. Furthermore, all employees are encouraged to participate in a personal development program aimed at building on their individuals strengths to benefit the broader team. We offer opportunities for promotion, training and career development solely based on job-related, appropriate criteria such as skills, competencies, experience, aptitude and enthusiasm and giving account to each individual’s experience, ambitions and capabilities. We will continue to implement our diversity, equity and inclusion policy by seeking new ways to improve and support diversity, equity and inclusion in our company.

Subtopic: Diversity targets

Disclosure: We aim to foster an inclusive work environment in support of our strategic plan and priorities. We continue to raise the bar in this regard, and to commit to measures and goals designed to support our maturing company culture. We aim to have an equal gender balance in our Board of Directors and in our Company leadership (including functional leaders and project leaders).