The Post-Pandemic Order : A Blueprint for Balancing Health and IP Interests in the Age of Viral Variants

On May 31, 2021, the World Health Assembly (“WHA”) agreed to convene a full-body meeting in early December 2021 to develop a pandemic response treaty for future pandemics. Although discussions about the possibility of a treaty are underway, more drastic organizational reform is needed. The Agreement that the World Health organization (“WHO”), World Trade Organization (“WTO”), and World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) announced in May is an excellent start, however the cooperation must extend further and more pervasively in existing frameworks and resolutions. This Article proposes an enhanced cooperation agreement that creates a Trilateral Council with the global capacity and ability to (1) investigate developing pandemics; (2) implement TRIPS compulsory licensing provisions and grant voluntary licenses to facilitate vaccine development; (3) facilitate the rapid creation of raw material pipelines to vaccine and treatment developers; and (4) fund remuneration for voluntary licenses that would incentivize pharmaceutical companies and other IP developers to collaborate and provide a rapid resolution to emerging crises