Global action needed to tackle pandemics
OECD reports puts forward four-point plan
There is a dramatic lack of planning for the production and distribution of medical countermeasures to pandemics, according to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report.
Although individual countries, such as the US, have discussed strategies, the nature of a pandemic means that global action is needed.
Harvey Rubin, from the University of Pennsylvania in the US, says in his report, Future Global Shocks: Pandemics, that there is also a need for international harmonisation of regulations and financially sustainable basic research upon which tackling a pandemic is based.
Rubin proposes a four-point 'International Compact for Infectious Diseases', which would in Mission I develop advanced information technology to monitor and report on infectious diseases using epidemiological data, clinical trial information, material transfer agreements and skills.
Mission II would establish a network of international basic science research centres to support investigations into microbial threats to global health.
Mission III would involve the expansion of capabilities for the production and distribution of vaccines and therapeutics expressly for emerging and re-emerging infections
Mission IV would develop and monitor international standards for best laboratory, regulatory and ethical practices.
Rubin says the key benefit of the compact will be to drive innovation and progress in four core areas: information and knowledge sharing; basic science; drug and vaccine development; and best laboratory and regulatory practices.
He suggests the health impact fund (HIF), proposed in 2008, as a tool to incentivise development and production of drugs and vaccines, especially for the poor.
The HIF would be funded by a percentage of gross domestic profit (GDP) from participating nations. Development projects would receive HIF funds based on the contribution the product would make to global health. Products developed using HIF funds would be sold wherever needed for the lowest production cost.
Rubin says adopting the HIF would stimulate production and distribution of lower-priced drugs and vaccines and discourage the spread of counterfeit medicines.
The Compact suggests governments, the private sector and academia work together to increase awareness of each others’ activities, thereby enhancing the legitimacy of the project and promoting a thorough understanding of its goals.