Event organized by DSI Scientific Network and European Viral Outbreak Response Alliance (EVORA)
DATE: Thursday, November 20th | 1pm – 2:30 pm GMT
LOCATION: Online
The WHO adopted the landmark Pandemic Agreement in May 2025, but one component remains under negotiation. The Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS) is seen as key to achieve greater equity and fairness in access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics (VTDs), while ensuring the rapid and timely sharing of pathogen materials and data, which is critical to the ability to respond quickly to emerging health threats.
This question of access and benefit sharing to materials and data is not new nor unique to PABS. It is under discussion also under CBD, BBNJ and the IT-PGRFA. How the system is set up will hugely impact research which is highly dependent on the sharing of data through the international scientific infrastructure of databases (including open, and semi-open databases); and in doing so how quickly, fairly and effectively pandemic response can be mounted.
The webinar will consider the proposals currently outlined by different countries and how they may affect research on pathogens of high pandemic potential, and as a result pandemic response. It will consider what are possible options to ensure the open science infrastructure which support research worldwide is leveraged to support the objectives of the Pandemic Treaty and PABS, while addressing countries concerns about fairness of benefit sharing.
