In this bonus episode of Off Script, we examine the evolving state of global pandemic preparedness. In 2025, World Health Organization Member States adopted the first-ever Pandemic Agreement. However, a critical component — the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system — remains unresolved, with negotiations ongoing.

With next week’s World Health Assembly in Geneva set to focus on these issues, this episode brings you a special panel discussion moderated by New York Times global health and science writer Apoorva Mandavilli. Recorded in November 2025, global leaders in pandemic science explore where progress has been made, what challenges remain, and what happens next in strengthening global pandemic preparedness.

What you’ll learn

Learnings from COVID-19 – the need for speed, effective vaccines, therapeutics, and surveillance, and what the world should do differently next time.

The role of governments – a call for pandemic preparedness investment on par with defence spending, and for the global scientific community to lead where political action lags.

Equity and access – proposals for a global pandemic fund and tiered pricing models to ensure equitable access across low-, middle-, and high-income countries.

Predictions for future pandemics – discussion on the pathogens most likely to cause the next global outbreak, and debate over whether host-targeted therapies or direct-acting antivirals will be more effective.

Featured Experts

Professor Sharon Lewin – Director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics

Professor David Ho – Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Columbia University

Professor Linfa Wang – Director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme, Duke-NUS Medical School

Professor Nanshan Zhong – Director of the National Clinical Research Centre of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Laboratory

Apoorva Mandavilli – Global Health and Science Writer, The New York Times

This bonus episode of Off Script is hosted by Rebecca Elliott and produced by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics, part of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity.

Keep up to date on our work via https://www.doherty.edu.au/cumming-global-centre-for-pandemic-therapeutics.