8.2 Pandemic influenza preparedness: sharing of influenza viruses and access to vaccines and other benefits

Through WHA64.5 the DG provided the Board with a report on the status and progress of global influenza vaccine production capacity, the status of agreements entered into with industry, including information on access to vaccines, antivirals and other pandemic material, the financial report on the use of the partnership contribution, and the experience arising from the use of the definition of PIP biological materials.

MS noted the report and reflected on the importance of PIP for “global health security”. MS sought clarification of the financing, how WHO would work with the private sector, and the details of the partnership contributions as well as the need to track the benefits to WHO from the partnership contributions. Thailand reaffirmed the importance of building vaccine manufacturing capacity in developing countries as soon as possible. The USA encouraged MS to provide human and financial resources for the development of STMAs, as it is already doing. Brazil offered to provide legal support with respect of STMA-2 to the Secretariat.

The NGO coalition MMI/PHM/TWN raised the issue of transparency, calling on WHO to make all SMTAs signed with non-GISRS entities be made publicly available, as well as making publicly available which entities WHO has sent a “Notice of commencement of SMTA 2 Negotiations” and information as to which companies have contributed, the level of contribution, and the methodology of contribution. MMI also called for partnership contributions  from any other ‘non- producing entities’ that acquire intellectual property on the basis of research utilizing GISRS materials, to reflect the benefits that they derive from the WHO system.

The WHO Secretariat responded to the Board stating that SMTA-2 involves negotiations with commercial entities and that a number of negotiations were underway since they were still discussing the methodology in terms of who pays what to the partnership contribution. The DG elaborated on the need for transparency and speed first that the Advisory Group is member focused, second that WHO had no legal support for negotiation SMTA-2. Two Secretariat staff had this as their “night job”. For that reason the negotiation was not as speedy as they would like. Since past offers from countries to offer WHO legal support had not materialised, the DG called for more legal support from MS.

PHM comment post-EB