From The Editor | January 5, 2022

The Next Pandemic: Biopharma's Opportunities & Obligations

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By Matthew Pillar, Editor, Bioprocess Online

The Next Panademic

It’s been 24 months since the COVID-19 pandemic began its global sweep. It’s been 13 months since the FDA’s EUA of the first vaccine to combat the scourge. While that marked historic progress, the celebratory tone of the day has been tempered as early promises of protection have softened, and the durability of that protection remains in question.

Meanwhile, nearly 5.5 million have died. The Omicron variant is setting daily new infection records. Access to tests is spotty at best. Acute care capacity is routinely stretched beyond its limits. Therapeutic options are few and metered in their availability.

With 2 years of retrospection on our industry’s reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, this much is sure: The biopharma industry must find itself on firmer footing when public health threats emerge. But how?

That’s the big question I’ll address on Tuesday, February 1 at 11 AM ET, when I play host to a virtual Bioprocess Online Live! discussion with Heat Biologics Founder & CEO Jeff Wolf, Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives President & CEO Jon Weaver, and Lake BioScience Projects Manager Adrian Wallis.

The Next Pandemic: Biopharma’s Opportunities & Obligations will address the role and value of public/private partnerships in developing platforms for pandemic preparedness. We’ll explore the collaborations enabling agile response to public health emergencies, therapeutic manufacturing flexibility, vaccine platform development, and supply chain resiliency. Wolf, Weaver, and Wallis will share their firsthand experiences building the agile infrastructure – from the assemblage of the people and resources required to putting spades in the ground and developing R&D capacity and cGMP production plans – to get ahead of the next big threat.

We’ll also discuss why it makes good business sense to take steps now to be in an agile leadership position when public health emergencies arise.

The live, interactive discussion will include plenty of time for Q&A with the panelists. Join your colleagues from the life sciences public, private, and financial sectors to learn how to prepare for your role in the next population-level health crisis. Register here.