Amid criticism over its approach to Covid-19, the pharmaceutical industry has issued a new “declaration” to work closer with intra-governmental groups in order to provide greater access to medicines and vaccines in future pandemics.
Toward that end, the industry listed three priorities, starting with enhancing and streamlining product development, which could include increased collaborations with academia; faster manufacturing to generate high volumes of products to meet global demands; and allocating supplies to priority populations, such as health care workers and low-income countries.
For this to work, however, governments should widen clinical trial networks, boost regulatory approval strategies, fund pandemic preparedness and procurement mechanisms for low-income countries, not issue trade restrictions, and maintain intellectual property rights, according to the declaration released by International Federal of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations, a trade group.
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