#9: How Medical Countermeasures are vital to Pandemic Preparedness within the context of Disease X

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In today’s episode our Conversation was centered around the role of Medical countermeasures (MCMs) in pandemic preparedness and we also touched on the concept of Disease X. 

Medical countermeasures refer to the measures and products aimed at addressing the medical needs arising from infectious disease outbreaks. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored deficiencies and requirements in ensuring a swift, efficient, and equitable response to global infectious disease outbreaks. One significant concern lies in the institutional capacity required to advance research and development and introduce novel medical countermeasures (MCMs) for pandemics or diseases with pandemic potential to the market. An all-encompassing perspective that guarantees equitable and sustainable access to MCMs involves expeditious progress throughout the stages of research and development, manufacturing, production, delivery, and the creation of demand, particularly for high-risk populations. Addressing global challenges like a pandemic crisis or a potential pandemic crisis exposes the world to shared vulnerabilities, necessitating international collaboration in response. During the pandemic, international collaborations were established, and existing ones were adapted to meet evolving needs. Additionally, we briefly discussed the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A), which serves as a cross-agency partnership focused on providing access to COVID-19 tools, including MCMs. This underscores the critical emphasis on pandemic preparedness. In addition to addressing current challenges, it is imperative that our global efforts in pandemic preparedness and medical countermeasures remain vigilant and adaptable to the ever-evolving landscape of infectious diseases, including the potential emergence of "Disease X," a term used to represent unknown or unexpected pathogens that may pose future threats to humanity.

The last five minutes of this episode includes a teaser of the Johnson & Johnson Bedquilline story of their treatment for multi drug resistant Tuberculosis that, post patent extension, the company agreed to waive their rights in certain regions where MDR Tuberculosis is highly prevelent. This will allow generics manufacturers to manufacture the drug and thus make it available at a lower price point to patients that need it most. But the story gets a little more interesting. The video mentioned is included in the full original article. Read the full article from the newsletter archives here: https://globalhealthconversations.substack.com/p/breakthrough-in-drug-patents-for

And for follow ups, check out the later newsletters and subscribe for more news as this story unfolds:  https://globalhealthconversations.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile

Resources:

Lancet Paper: Disease X: accelerating the development of medical countermeasures for the next pandemic

Disease X - Comments on Disease X from Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund - Third party article: https://www.politico.eu/article/next-pandemic-disease-climate-change-peter-sands-global-fund/