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In May 2025, the World Health Assembly adopted the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement. Member States had, however, postponed the negotiation of a key mechanism: the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system. Eight meetings of an Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) have been held since July 2025 without reaching a conclusion. This annex has held up the finalisation of the treaty for a year and a half.<\/p>\n
On 13 November 2026, after two weeks of negotiations in Geneva, WHO Member States announced progress on the PABS annex. They reaffirm their goal of finalising it for the World Health Assembly in May 2027<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The annex is to organise the rapid and transparent sharing of pathogens with pandemic potential and their genetic sequences. In return, it must guarantee rapid and equitable access to the resulting products: vaccines, diagnostic tests and treatments.<\/p>\n Negotiators made headway on benefit-sharing within a legally binding framework and on the role of partners. They also examined the role of laboratories and other technical partners in the system.<\/p>\nKey figures<\/h3>\n
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What it means for businesses<\/h3>\n
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Who says what<\/h3>\n
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What's next<\/h3>\n
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Further reading<\/h3>\n