Global Pharmaceutical Policy: Opportunities and Challenges for the Global South

Global Pharmaceutical Policy at Crossroads: Opportunities and Challenges for the Global South

Global pharmaceutical policy is undergoing a major transformation. Over the past few years, constant funding gaps, rising inequity in access to medicines, soaring drug prices, and fragile supply chains have driven significant policy shifts worldwide. In recent months, unprecedented global pressures (political, diplomatic, economic, and financial), exacerbated by the recent withdrawal of the US from its prominent role in global health cooperation, have begun catalyzing a profound long-term restructuring of global health governance.

This new landscape presents challenges and opportunities.

This study group, led by M-RCBG Senior Fellow Padmashree Gehl Sampath, will examine how these ongoing changes shape the Global South’s prospects for leadership in this critical sector.

We will explore key questions, including:

• What are the implications for global health security, distributed manufacturing, and access to medicines and medical countermeasures?
• How will onshoring pharmaceutical manufacturing impact the global industry, supply chains, and equitable drug access?
• Can the Global South leverage this moment to change the rules of the game in its favor?
• Finally, is global health governance ready for a new geopolitical era?