World leaders recently convened for the 77th World Health Assembly, where much of the discussion centered around how to best prepare the world against future pandemics and global health emergencies. In these discussions, several World Health Organization (WHO) members expressed strong support for innovation, which is reflected in the WHO “recognizing the importance of intellectual property [IP] protection for developing new medicines.” 

In particular, key global leaders and organizations emphasized that a strong innovation ecosystem was crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic and remains essential for addressing future health challenges:

• U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra stated that, “the world emerged from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to unprecedented collaboration that brought governments, the private sector, and civil society together around a common goal: to save lives.” This collaboration was underpinned by robust IP rights, which were essential for incentivizing the private sector's participation, ensuring investment in research and development and providing a framework for cross-sector partnerships. Secretary Becerra further emphasized that in the future, “unprecedented collaboration will be needed again if we are to prevent, detect, contain, and respond quickly to the many common threats that we face.”

• President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen also highlighted the role of “the outstanding research and development of life-saving vaccines” in overcoming the pandemic, emphasizing that such research would not have been possible without the innovation ecosystem that supported the rapid creation of these technologies.

• The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), along with the Global Self-Care Federation and Global Technology Alliance, powerfully echoed these views, stating unequivocally that “the Pandemic Agreement needs to strengthen, not weaken, the innovation ecosystem that is essential to pandemic preparedness and response.” They highlighted that research incentives and international collaborations are not merely beneficial, but absolutely critical for effective pandemic preparedness. 

As global leaders continue to discuss how to keep the world prepared for tomorrow’s challenges, it is crucial that they continue to prioritize and bolster the innovation ecosystem – the cornerstone of the collaboration, research and development – to effectively combat future global health threats.