By Linda Rouse O’Neill, Vice President, Government Affairs
Zika, Ebola, and Pandemic Preparedness
Linda Rouse O’Neill
In our April column, we discussed rising industry and government interest in pandemic preparation. Since then, the importance of this kind of preparation has grown, with the spread of Zika and a growing outbreak of Yellow Fever. To help our members prepare for future epidemics, HIDA has made significant strides in bringing together and educating leaders in industry and government to address the threat posed by infectious diseases.
Emergency Preparedness Briefing
On Wednesday, May 25, Reps. Susan Brooks (R-IN) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on how all stakeholders, including manufacturers, distributors, and providers, can learn from past pandemics. The speakers included representatives from leading medical diagnostics manufacturers, who briefed legislators on the challenges of developing point-of-care diagnostics and the regulatory hurdles needed to be overcome in order to make these critical resources available during a crisis.
Diagnostic systems, whether designed for the lab or point of care, must undergo lengthy scrutiny before they are brought to market, the speakers noted. While this is intended to limit risks, this also makes introducing new tests following an outbreak particularly difficult. The speakers called on regulators to provide them greater flexibility and to shorten the regulatory pipeline so that they could bring to bear their latest diagnostic capabilities and institutional knowledge. In responding to one of the attendee’s questions, the speakers observed that the FDA has been more cautious than previously in approving new tests. New diagnostic technologies offer great promise to track and address early outbreaks, but, as the speakers told the attendees, the industry will not be able to deliver the best possible response without greater flexibility from other stakeholders.
2016 Washington Summit
HIDA members are returning from yet another successful Washington Summit at the end of June. Supply chain executives again brought crucial distribution messages to their congressional representatives. Next month’s column will dive deeper into the event’s outcomes and implications for distribution.
AHRMM16 Meeting
HIDA will also present at the AHRMM16 meeting in San Diego, California, on industry efforts to build elasticity into the supply chain. Most importantly, this meeting will present attendees with the lessons learned from recent pandemics and provide an outlook into solutions currently under consideration by policymakers.
Infectious diseases present an evolving threat and an effective response will involve diagnostics, measurement, and treatment. Distributors play a central role in any response, from ensuring sufficient inventory for an emergency situation, to delivering supplies in an effective and timely manner. Just as in years past, HIDA continues to educate key industry and government leaders on the threat of pandemics while highlighting the vital role distributors play.
As always, if you would like to learn more about out outreach efforts, please contact HIDA Government Affairs at HIDAGovAffairs@HIDA.org.