Pandemic Readiness Lobby Draws Biotech, Government Members

Riley Griffin
·2 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Drug and biotechnology firms, academics, investors and former government officials are launching a new lobbying group that hopes to improve long-term support for technology and products to combat future pandemics and other biological threats.

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Initial members of the group include Roche Holding AG’s Genentech unit, Flagship Pioneering Inc., Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings Inc., Siga Technologies Inc., Coherus Biosciences Inc., ImmunityBio Inc., IGM Biosciences Inc., Texas A&M University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The group, which will be called the Medical Countermeasures Coalition, or MC2, says it hopes to create sustained investment and a better market for pandemic preparations, which have often fallen victim to what is known as the cycle of “panic and neglect” following emergencies. During Covid-19, for example, after spending tens of billions on the development of vaccines and treatments, Congress has refused the Biden administration’s request for additional funding for updated boosters tailored to new variants, as well as funding for other countermeasures.

“The next year is just critical,” said John Redd, a member of the group’s board who spent years at the Health and Human Services Department’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and with the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. “We’ve learned from both the successes and the failures of the Covid response: It has to be quick and coordinated between the government, industry and academia.”

Also on the board are former US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases Commander Gerald Parker, health entrepreneur Patrick Soon-Shiong, and Taylor Sexton, a principal at lobbying firm Todd Strategy Group, which is launching the Washington-based coalition.

Among MC2’s initial priorities is to educate government stakeholders about future health threats, including naturally-occurring infectious disease and man-made threats. It also aims to be a force behind the reauthorization of the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act, which was first signed into law in 2006 by President George W. Bush to improve capabilities needed to respond to public health threats.

“We need a broad set of parties to be hitting the pavement and banging on doors,” Tom DiLenge, who leads Flagship’s public policy, regulatory and governmental strategy and is working with the group as a founding member. “If it’s just a group of companies interested in getting contracts, that minimizes our effectiveness.”

(Updates with member company in second paragraph)

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