Hardening pharmaceutical response to pandemics: concrete project seeks project lead
TL;DR
We are looking for a collaborator to explore projects aiming to harden pharmaceutical infrastructure.
We would figure out up to 3 months of full-time equivalent funding, at up to 100% of ‘EA-salary,’ with the duration of the project ranging from 3 to 12 months based on the lead’s preferences. The successful candidate would be responsible for (1) refining/adapting our MVP proposal, (2) finding an external partner, and (3) securing additional funding.
Pharmaceutical response needs hardening
Certain pandemic scenarios may lead to severe compromises to pharmaceutical response. Such compromises would increase the likelihood of far worse pandemic outcomes.
Governments already expend significant resources to protect command and control, military response, and other capabilities against more traditional threats. By comparison, the pharmaceutical response capability is relatively unprotected.
Meanwhile, we believe that there are high-impact, relatively low-cost measures that can be taken to better harden existing facilities against these threats.
We have the beginnings of a plan
See here.
We have also interacted with a couple of (technologically and politically) relevant stakeholders, who have expressed interest in seeing this project move forward.
We need someone to run with this + partner organization
Our first blocker is a person to drive this project forward. While we can act as involved advisors, we won’t have the capacity to work on this full-time over the next 2-3 years.
The ideal candidate would have the following attributes, in descending order of importance. (Please don’t be discouraged from submitting the interest form if you don’t fit all of the criteria!)
Share core vision/be enthusiastic about taking responsibility for success of project,
Experience successfully leading projects, Excellent communicator, planner, team-builder,
Skilled at building relationships with and managing external stakeholders,
Expertise in biosecurity or related fields, and/or
Existing connections with relevant stakeholders.
We are open to commitments from 1 day per week to full-time.
Our second blocker is a partner organization with whom we can develop, iterate, and implement our ideas in the real world.
That person could be you
So let us know if you’re interested here!
We also welcome suggestions about the substance of the idea, or about getting more buy-in from important stakeholders.
How long do you suggest one should spend filling out the interest form?
Not long at all! We’d prefer that anyone interested applies quickly; investment in interviews/reading our plan/etc. can wait.
I think that the proposal identifies some interesting potential areas of work. A couple of unsolicited thoughts:
In addition to developing generalized plans and associated SOPs, it may be important in phase I to develop assessment tools to identify gaps, and map the existing industry and FDA minimum standards and practices (I think this is referred to within the theory of change)
Globally-relevant partner stakeholders that immediately come to mind are IFPMA and PhRMA
Finding opportunities to improve FDA regulatory avenues is another downstream piece of work
Is the scope of work, at least initially, focused on US and European pharmaceutical infrastructure?
If you haven’t come across it yet, worth seeing what Wellcome Leap’s R3 project involves, it focuses on increasing the production capability of MRNA vaccines in globally distributed labs so that there is better responsiveness to emerging pathogens; whether another covid, ebola, a particularly bad flu etc.
https://wellcomeleap.org/r3/
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pfizers-production-facilities-appear-undamaged-n-carolina-tornado-ceo-says-2023-07-21/
Are you still looking for someone? I know some very qualified bio people
Not for the main role any more, but excited to hear about people who might be interested in contributing!