A pandemic treaty for equitable global access to medical countermeasures: seven recommendations for sharing intellectual property, know-how and technology

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how current international laws and practices fail to ensure medical countermeasures (ie, vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and personal protective equipment) are equitably distributed in a global health crisis.

In 2021, the 194 Member States of the World Health Organization agreed to begin negotiations towards an international instrument that would better position the world to prevent, respond and prepare for future pandemics (often called a ‘pandemic treaty’.)

A pandemic treaty presents an opportunity to address these challenges in international law, and craft a better system, based on solidarity, for the global development and distribution of medical countermeasures.

We recommend that a pandemic treaty ensures sufficient financing for biomedical research and development (R&D), creates conditions for licensing government-funded R&D, mandates technology transfer, shares intellectual property, data and knowledge needed for the production and supply of products, and streamlines regulatory standards and procedures to market medical countermeasures.

We also recommend that a pandemic treaty ensures greater transparency and inclusive governance of these systems.

The aim of these components in a pandemic treaty should be to craft a better collective response to global health threats, consistent with existing international law, political commitments and sound public health practice.