In order to combat with infectious diseases, it is essential a new strategy based on the creation of a four-Point International compact for Infectious Diseases.
The first global compact for Infectious Diseases is required to establish, maintain and monitor international standards for surveillance and reporting of data and knowledge of infectious diseases using advanced information technology to ensure timeliness, interoperability and security, including but not limited to:
–Epidemiological data,
–Information about new and ongoing clinical trials
–Data regarding new compounds and targets
–Standardized material transfer agreements
–Services and skills
The second global compact for Infectious Diseases is required to establish, maintain and monitor a network of international basic science research centres that will support fundamental investigations into the pathophysiology of certain microbial threats to global health.
The third global compact for Infectious Diseases required is to expand capabilities for the production and distribution of vaccines and therapeutics expressly for emerging and re-emerging infections.
The fourth global compact for Infectious Diseases required is to establish, maintain and monitor international standards for best laboratory, regulatory and ethical practices.
Through the implementation of these four-Point International compact, the Compact will minimize the impact of infectious diseases on national and international health, social and economic development and international security. The key benefit of the Compact is to drive innovation and progress in four core areas: information and knowledge sharing, basic science, drug and vaccine development and best laboratory and regulatory practices. These compact are interconnected. Without a strong foundation of basic science, the drug and vaccine pipelines dry up. Similarly, in the absence of effective bio surveillance it becomes difficult to project which strain of an emerging disease represents the most significant threat, which in turn hampers our ability to create countermeasures. Information technology and knowledge sharing will drive new science, which in turn can modify and inform regulatory initiatives. Standardized regulatory regimes enable new drugs and vaccines that will change global epidemiological patterns and these patterns must be reintegrated into a central database, beginning the cycle again.
Addressing the problem as a whole creates powerful incentives for stakeholders to participate. For example, in order to access a central database containing information on current clinical trials, epidemiological data and new compounds and targets, participants would pledge to implement best laboratory and regulatory practices. By bringing together government and the private sector and academia, the Compact allows each group to institutionalize their relations with the others. Pharmaceutical companies and public-private development partnerships can find partners to help/take promising leads through to development. With the inclusion of post marketing/post distribution clinical trial data in the database, philanthropic organizations and governments will be able to understand the effects of their investments are having throughout the world. Academics will acquire additional funding streams for their research as well as input from their colleagues all over the world. Finally, all parties will work together to harmonize regulatory processes across the board, reducing barriers to market entry for much needed therapeutics and ensuring their wider distribution.
While combating with the infectious diseases, we must analyse ourselves with the existing experience and learning. Simply stated there are four major lessons learned about control points from the data and risk analyses on infectious diseases. Firstly, there is not sufficient interoperable, globally shared information available in real-time about pandemic risk inventories, hazards or threatened segments of the built or natural infrastructure. Secondly, there is a dramatic lack of forward thinking and planning for the creation and distribution of i) medical countermeasures-including drugs, vaccines and surge capacity, and ii) non-medical countermeasures-including public information programs, and recommendations for regulating restrictions on travel and social gatherings(school and work closures, boarder closures). Thirdly there is a serious requirement for international harmonization of regulations across the pandemic spectrum and fourthly there needs to be financially sustainable basic research efforts upon which is based the preparation, mitigation, response and rebuilding that is required before, during and after a pandemic. We detail the relevant control points in a pandemic event along with the preparedness measures necessary for mitigation.
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