PROMOTED CONTENT
THOMAS CUENI Thomas Cueni has led IFPMA since 2017, during which time he has been instrumental in establishing cross-sectoral programmes designed to tackle the biggest global health challenges. This includes establishing the $1 billion AMR Action Fund to support the development of new antibiotics; serving as chair of the AMR Alliance; and being the industry’s representative on the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator. Thomas began his career as a journalist, as London correspondent for the Basler Zeitung and Der Bund , before serving as a Swiss diplomat in Paris (OECD) and Vienna (IAEA, UNIDO). Thomas has a master’s degree in economics from the University of Basel and another in politics from the London School of Economics. He also studied at the Geneva Graduate Institute for International Studies. X-TWITTER @IFPMA ifpma.org
the likelihood of a pandemic as deadly as Covid-19 taking place in the next decade drops from 27.5% to 8.1%. 3 That is why it is so concerning that right now, there is a real risk that we inadvertently undermine this ecosystem. An example of this is the debate over the sharing of pathogens and their genetic information. Rapid, unhindered access to this information was never questioned in the fight against Covid-19. As soon as the sequence of the novel coronavirus and subsequent variants were published online, scientists were able to access this information in real time and start to work on the development of the medical countermeasures. This will be critical against future pandemics. Any move to slow the spread of information through transactional access barriers to pathogens or genetic information must be avoided, if we want to have a chance for an even faster response as set out in the 100 Days Mission. Another example is the protection of intellectual property, not only critical to incentivise research and innovation, but also critical to facilitate the voluntary partnerships between companies and organisations, which we saw on an unprecedented scale during Covid-19. More than 450 voluntary collaborations were in place to support the scale-up of production of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments. 4 These partnerships went far beyond granting licences, but included knowhow sharing, technology transfer and training of people. By partnering with the companies that have the right expertise and experience alongside a proven track record of quality and safety, it was possible to treble global vaccine production and supply. Such partnerships are based on trust and cannot be coerced. Efforts to introduce compulsory licensing or other measures would fail to deliver the reliable scale up of supply needed. THE EQUITY LESSON However, while we saw the triumph of science and record scaling up of vaccines and treatments, there is no denying that when it came to ensuring equity of access to Covid-19 vaccines and treatments, the global healthcare community fell short of its promise to leave no one behind. Although we saw a strong start to equitable rollout through the establishment of COVAX, this was soon undercut by vaccine nationalism and export bans, which, in particular, left people in Africa behind for far too long. We must do better in response to future pandemics. Last year, the pharmaceutical industry published its own plans to address the failure of equitable access during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Berlin Declaration 5 , with a commitment that companies reserve an allocation of real-time production of vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for priority populations in lower-income countries. These commitments were also embraced by the Developing Countries Vaccines Manufacturing Network and the Biotechnology Industry Organization. But for
this to work, we must see coordinated action by industry, governments and multilateral organisations. First, we need a social contract. Governments in countries where manufacturing facilities are located need to commit to facilitating the export or import of raw materials and finished products. Trade restrictions and tariffs hamper efforts for equitable rollout. We must see countries make meaningful commitments in this regard. Second, Covid-19 also highlighted that resilient production capacity, geographical diversification of manufacturing, sustainable supply chains and a network of established trusted partners are a key part of preparations for future pandemics. But this will not happen overnight. We need to understand future demand, create the right environment that attracts sustainable investments, ensure we have a highly skilled workforce, and strengthen regulatory capacities and supply chains. The ability for us to learn the right lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic will determine our ability to respond to the next. We must take an evidence-based approach and look to build consensus on the measures that both preserve the innovation ecosystem that will deliver vaccines and treatments, alongside practical proposals that will ensure they reach the people who need them. These must be the guiding principles of our plans. ▪ 1 Agarwal R, Gopinath G, Farrar J, Hatchett R, Sands P. A global strategy to manage the long-term risks of COVID-19. Washington (DC): International Monetary Fund; 2022, https://www.imf.org/en/ Publications/WP/Issues/2022/04/04/A-Global-Strategy-to-Manage-the-Long-Term-Risks-of- COVID-19-516079 2 Watson, O J, Barnsley G, Toor J, Hogan A B, Winskill P, Ghani A C. Global impact of the first year of COVID-19 vaccination: a mathematical modelling study, The Lancet, 2022, https://www.thelancet. com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(22)00320-6 3 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-14/another-covid-like-pandemic-could- hit-the-world-within-10-years 4 Analysis by Airfinity for IFPMA, https://www.ifpma.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Airfinity_ COVID-19_Treatments__Vaccines_Over_Time_12Sept2023.pdf 5 Biopharmaceutical industry vision for equitable access in pandemic, launched in Berlin in July 2022, https://www.ifpma.org/news/berlin-declaration-biopharmaceutical-industry-vision-for-equitable- access-in-pandemics/
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Health: A Political Choice – From Fragmentation to Integration
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