On 13 and 14 March, GPMB hosted in collaboration with the INB co-Chairs, two Dialogues on the Pandemic Agreement, bringing together Member States, GPMB Members and potential ‘users’ (in session one) and ‘sharers’ (in session two) of the proposed Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS), which is covered in Article 12 of the current draft of the Agreement.
Held in advance of the 9th meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), the two Dialogues were intended to support negotiations of Pandemic Agreement through the exchange of ideas and perspectives from some sectors instrumental to its success. The sessions formed part of a series, and followed on from earlier GPMB-hosted Dialogues with private sector and CSOs, held in the margins of INB 8. To ensure a frank and open exchange, the sessions were conducted under the Chatham House rule, under which meeting attendees are free to use information from a discussion, but not to reveal who made any specific comment.
Both PABS-focused sessions were chaired by GPMB Co-Chair, Ms Joy Phumaphi, and were introduced with a summary illustration of the current PABS proposal included in article 12 of the draft Pandemic Agreement text. Participants contributed ideas and suggestions, with Member States and GPMB Members asking questions and providing reflections.
The first meeting, on Development of a Global Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) System, involved users of biological material and genetic sequence data for the development and production of medical countermeasures, comprising private manufacturers, biotech companies, and academic entities. Participants were invited to share what they saw as the advantages of a multilateral PABS, to propose what they could sustainably contribute to the PABS, and to reflect on the incentives and disincentives of a system from their different perspectives.
The second meeting, on Sharing of Pathogens and Genetic Sequence Data under the proposed PABS system brought together representatives of entities (laboratories, research entities and databases) engaged in the collection, analysis and sharing of pathogens with pandemic potential and their genetic sequence data, as well as legal experts and experts on access-benefit sharing.Topics for discussion included how the PABS could be designed to support timely sharing of biological material and genetic sequencing data, how a traceability system could be implemented, how benefit-sharing could be optimized, and what could be learned from existing access and benefit-sharing systems and processes.
GPMB and the Pandemic Agreement
The GPMB has called repeatedly for an agreement for preparedness throughout its tenure, first calling for an international regulatory framework to address health emergencies in its 2020 Report, calling for the adoption of an international agreement in its 2021 Report, and further specifying key requirements for the Agreement in the Board’s 2023 Report. In January 2024, GPMB Members joined together with other world leaders to publish an open letter, highlighting the critical role of the Pandemic Agreement for ensuring a world that is safer from pandemics and epidemics.