Infectious Diseases/Pandemics Policy Lab

• Lab Architecture
• Origin and Focus
• Targeted, Outcome-Oriented Meetings
• Publications and Online Resources

The Infectious Diseases/Pandemics Policy Lab is managed by the NBR Center for Health and Aging—the Secretariat for the Pacific Health Summit. The lab is organized into two modules designed to tackle the distinct challenges posed by emerging infectious diseases such as avian flu and MDR-TB as well as the continuing threats of TB, cholera, and other diseases while acknowledging the common infrustructure that can be employed toward creating an effective health systems response.

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Spirited panel discussions at the 2005 Pacific Health Summit launched the creation of the Infectious Diseases/Pandemics Policy Lab. The goal of this Lab is to contribute research and support to saving lives and minimizing the economic impact of infectious diseases and continuing pandemics. Toward this end, the lab aims to leverage common infrastructure and best practices through targeted workshops, case studies, and briefings. Areas for research and discussion include:

• Facilitating communication about scientific and policy developments surrounding infectious diseases and pandemics among key stakeholders in science, medicine, policy, public health, and industry.
• Providing educational resources those who are dedicated to tackling the threat of infectious diseases and pandemics.

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Beijing, 2009. The NBR Center for Health and Aging and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will co-present a workshop on TB and MDR-TB in Beijing in early 2009. This meeting will address the disparity between our goals for treating TB and our current capabilities as well as the knowledge gaps that exist in our understanding of the disease.

Seattle, 2007. The focus of the Pacific Health Summit in 2007 was “Pandemics: Working Together for an Effective and Equitable Response.” This three day conference was co-presented by the NBR Center for Health and Aging, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Participants discussed the challenges presented by avian flu and other emerging communicable and non-communicable pandemics. At the top of the agenda were issues such as the building of vaccine manufacturing capacity and the establishment of financial mechanisms and tiered pricing structures to increase developing countries’ access to pandemic and pre-pandemic influenza vaccines.

Beijing, 2007. The NBR Center for Health and Aging and Chinese CDC co-presented a workshop on pandemic influenza vaccines in January 2007 in Beijing. The workshop goal was to improve the global environment for avian influenza vaccine research, development manufacturing, regulation, and dissemination, and by doing so create a platform for global collaboration on vaccines. A report of key findings from the workshop can be found here.

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• The Infectious Diseases/Pandemics Lab activities build on the 2006 publication Avian Flu Pandemic: What Would It Mean, and What Can We Do? The book, edited by the NBR Center for Health and Aging, is available on the Lab’s website and features essays that grapple with questions surrounding the possibility of an Avian Flu Pandemic from national security and industry standpoints.

• With the goal of providing a comprehensive resource for those interested in the history and current development of pandemic influenza vaccines, the Lab built an online resource page available to the public, which provides background material on all aspects of this vaccine, as well as links to international government, organization, and industry resources. Additionally, we have created a calendar of key meetings related to pandemic influenza vaccines, which is also available to the public.

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