What we must do to prepare for the next pandemic, a guest commentary

By David Beier and Bob Kocher

This article first ran in BioCentury on January 28, 2021

The U.S. is not ready for the next pandemic. Our public health infrastructure and planning process are not up to the challenge, our capacity to treat at-risk citizens is insufficient, and we are not making enough of a new category of antiviral that can treat emerging viruses: mAbs derived from patients.

The bottom line is this — we are poised to make the same mistakes again unless we act now. Five measures would help the U.S. scale up testing, therapeutics and vaccine development. The goal must be to create policies, financial structures and new capabilities that enable innovation, provide the necessary manufacturing capabilities, and protect the supply chain before the next pandemic hits.

Years before the COVID crisis struck, prior presidents (Bush and Obama) focused on pandemic planning, for example by setting standards for a national stockpile of personal protective equipment (PPE). But the Trump administration failed to build up our reserves or secure our supply, shutting down the unit of the National Security Council tasked with global health security. Fortunately, one of Biden’s first acts as president was to restore this office.

Our health system has struggled to deliver mAbs targeting the virus, which can prevent infections from becoming severe, because these therapies require IV administration and…