PAHO and CEPI to advance regulatory harmonization and response to health emergencies in the Americas

The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) have signed the first technical cooperation agreement aimed at improving regulatory harmonization and convergence in the Region of the Americas. The agreement was signed in the margins of the 79th UN General Assembly in New York.

The primary goal of the partnership is to advance the work of the Pan American Network for Drug Regulatory Harmonization (PANDRH). Through this agreement, CEPI will support PAHO’s efforts as the technical secretariat for PANDRH to support pandemic preparedness in countries.

“This agreement supports PAHO’s work to strengthen health security in the Americas. Functional regulatory systems are particularly crucial to achieving equitable access to quality-assured and safe medical products during pandemics and other public health emergencies, as well as to promote regional innovation and production,” PAHO Director Jarbas Barbosa said. “We are eager to strengthen our partnership with CEPI through this agreement, following a cooperation framework signed in 2023 for the benefit of people across the Americas”, he added.

PANDRH was established in 1999 to help strengthen regulatory functions and systems in countries of the Americas with the aim of achieving regulatory convergence and harmonization in the Region. Its mission includes addressing existing disparities, developing core competencies to support good regulatory practices and science, and develop, approve, and implement common proposals for the regulation of health technologies across the region.

“CEPI is delighted to strengthen our partnership with PAHO and PANDRH to support regulatory harmonization in the Americas and defend against emerging infectious diseases across the region. Such harmonization of regulatory processes is crucial as it fosters a common understanding among regional regulators, maximizes limited regulatory resources, helps establish standards that are tailored to specific regional needs, and, ultimately, can help accelerate the process of getting safe and effective diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines, to those who need them most,”, Dr. Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, said.

The new agreement follows recommendations made during the recent XI PANDRH Conference, which also marked the network’s 25th anniversary. The Conference called for a new strategic plan to adapt to emerging regional challenges and to improve, among others, regulatory preparedness for health emergencies.