PD 10 - New Perspectives on Pandemic Preparedness

Over the past 18 months, governments, international organizations, health care professionals, the biopharmaceutical industry and many others have come together in unprecedented ways to respond to one of the biggest global health crises the world has experienced in recent decades—the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, while we have witnessed extraordinary efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, in many cases, the response has been hindered by a limited global understanding of, and agreement on how, to address urgent, key challenges in the absence of pre-established, coordinated policies and processes. Reflecting on past successes and failures, our panelists will identify 1) the key lessons learned from the COVID-19 response; 2) the areas where drawing lessons may still be premature; 3) the indispensable elements that support a sustainable and coherent system capable of responding to the next pandemic. We will examine practical challenges that impact the biopharmaceutical industry’s ability to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and future pandemics, such as the ways to further improve equitable access to medical treatments; and the importance of harmful pathogen sharing and the potential unintended consequences of the Nagoya Protocol.