The world has suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems there are many more viruses and bacteria like it. Recent pandemic infectious diseases include Ebola hemorrhagic fever, influenza A virus (H5N1 subtype), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MRS), and the novel coronavirus. There are approximately 1.7 million unknown viruses in mammals and birds. Of these, it is estimated that 630,000 have the potential to infect humans. More than 200 infectious diseases caused by pathogens that can infect both animals and humans have been identified. Although it is not widely known, more than five new zoonotic diseases emerge each year. New viruses are constantly emerging.
Infectious diseases of this nature can spread globally via aircraft within a matter of days, potentially causing simultaneous epidemics. This means the risk of new infectious diseases emerging and spreading is exponentially increasing. Countries around the world are being called upon to strengthen their systems for early detection and response to pathogens with the potential to cause a pandemic. Pandemics are expected to occur more frequently in the future. Naturally, the world is preparing for this. At the 2021 G7 Summit, a plan was put in place to prepare for the next pandemic. This plan included the declaration of the “100-Day Mission,” which aims to develop a vaccine within 100 days of a pandemic outbreak.
The current pandemic has had a major impact on the pharmaceutical industry’s strategy. Until now, drug development has been based on organic chemistry. For this vaccine development, a new development approach was adopted, moving away from organic chemistry-based drug discovery. This new approach pioneered new areas using proteins, nucleic acids, and mRNA. American companies have devoted considerable effort to accelerating this development. The U.S. executive branch has also supported this trend. Regulatory authorities have allowed a speed consistent with scientific realities. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) boldly bypassed the usual three-year process to support vaccine development. The American market has been pushing ahead with faster development. It could be said that the government has responded to requests and created a market in which companies that develop drugs first are rewarded. However, the second Trump administration has been somewhat reluctant to develop vaccines or anticipate pandemics. We must ensure that the small infectious diseases that emerge one after another do not turn into pandemics that threaten humanity.
