HERA Director-General Laurent Muschel, and Principal Adviser and Chief Science Officer Wolfgang Philipp delivered key presentations in three panels on global partnerships, pandemic preparedness and response, and anti-microbial resistance (AMR), and engaged in high-level dialogues with US government representatives from both the civilian and military sectors, as well as with industry leaders operating on both sides of the Atlantic. 

On this occasion, HERA also represented the European Commission at the inaugural Bio5 Coalition meeting, a US-led initiative promoting biopharmaceutical supply chain cooperation among the US, EU, Korea, Japan, and India.

HERA Director-General Laurent Muschel participated in a multi-panel session focused on US and global partnerships to enhance preparedness and response capabilities. Discussions in the first panel focused on the development of medical countermeasures (MCMs) and strategies for achieving the 100 Day Mission spearheaded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). HERA highlighted the necessity of a holistic, pathogen-agnostic approach to MCM development, stressing the importance of maintaining commitment on the background of existing challenges in building country-level stockpiles, and emphasized its key role in strategic stockpiling and coordination with EU Member States.

The second panel focused on the need for consistent health funding to prevent post-pandemic neglect. The HERA Director-General underscored the European Commission’s actions in pandemic preparedness and response, such as building European stockpiles of MCMs and ensuring manufacturing capacities both at home as well as low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Other panel participants highlighted the necessity of sustained COVID-level investments to ensure domestic access to critical supplies. Industry leaders called for predictability and transparency to encourage investment in MCMs, while other participants stressed the need for global R&D partnerships, and support to baseline investments in public health capacity.

Discussions in several high-level bilateral meetings further addressed topics such as securing consistent funding for new and accessible MCMs such as diagnostics, and antibodies, and the global challenge of anti-microbial resistance (AMR) which calls for coordinated efforts on the international stage, as well as a sustainable investment model for new antibiotics.

In a HERA-hosted roundtable event with industry representatives, the Director-General highlighted our priorities and tools for supporting MCM development. The session provided a platform for industry leaders explore opportunities for bolstering collaboration with HERA. The importance of international partnerships and market-based mechanisms to stimulate the development of innovative antibiotics were further underlined.

At the margins of the Convention, the inaugural meeting of the Bio5 Coalition, a US-led initiative aimed at addressing biopharmaceutical supply chain vulnerabilities, was also held. Representatives from the US, the European Commission, India, Japan, and the Republic of Korea exchanged on the need for strategic cooperation among like-minded partners to enhance supply chain resilience. presented actions taken in Europe to tackle shortages of medicines, notably through the Critical Medicines Alliance calling for maximising synergies with the Bio5 Coalition.

The Convention served as a platform to reinforce HERA’s strategic presence in global health discussions, and chart new avenues of cooperation with partners on the most pressing issues. The event underscored the importance of international cooperation, sustained investment, and industry engagement in enhancing global health preparedness and response.