Negotiations on an Annex to the Pandemic Agreement on a new Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system
My Hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention (Ashley Dalton MP) last updated the House in May on the adoption of the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement. I would now like to update the House regarding the follow-up negotiations to the Agreement, to develop and agree a new Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system, including its operational details, in the form of an Annex to the Agreement. The PABS system will be a new, voluntary system for life sciences companies to sign up to in order to gain faster access, with less red tape, to the pathogens they need to create new vaccines, treatments and tests in the event of a pandemic. A Member State-led Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) has been established to facilitate these negotiations.
The IGWG has met three times since the group was established in May. Member States have elected a Bureau to oversee negotiations, including agreeing that the Bureau will be co-chaired by representatives from the UK and Brazil. Discussions so far have primarily focused on the technical details of the PABS system. These discussions will continue in the next round of formal negotiations taking place in November. We were pleased that technical experts were invited to participate in some of the informal discussions in October, and we will continue to advocate for their input into the process.
Member States have agreed to report on the outcome of negotiations by the next World Health Assembly (WHA) in May 2026. Only once the negotiations on the PABS Annex have concluded, and the Annex has been adopted by the WHA, will the Pandemic Agreement, including the PABS Annex, be open for signature and ratification by Member States. This Government would only agree to a Pandemic Agreement and PABS Annex that is in the national interest.
The IGWG will convene regularly until May 2026, and I will update the House at important and relevant junctures over the course of negotiations.