Canada and the European Union will jointly stress-test priority medical countermeasure supply chains and pursue action on vulnerabilities, as part of an effort to help keep supplies available when emerging health threats require them.
An Oct. 30 statement from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada said the commitment followed an Oct. 26 meeting between Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib. The two officials agreed to deepen cooperation to help ensure countermeasures are available when needed against emerging threats.
The plan sets out a collaborative exercise to test priority supply chains, followed by joint steps to address weaknesses it identifies. The statement presented the work as a way to strengthen the resilience of medical-countermeasure systems by drawing on the partners' scientific and industrial capabilities.
The partners also intend to align investments in dual-use chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear medical countermeasures, with protecting populations as the stated goal. They pledged support for Canada's participation in Horizon Europe's BE READY pandemic-preparedness partnership. That participation is intended to strengthen links among Canadian and European researchers, innovators and industry, while speeding the development and production of innovative medical countermeasures.
The statement cited the partners' joint response to the current Ebola disease outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus as an example of their cooperation.
