With next week’s World Health Assembly in Geneva set to focus on these issues, this episode brings you a special panel discussion moderated by New York Times global health and science writer Apoorva Mandavilli. Recorded in November 2025, global leaders in pandemic science explore where progress has been made, what challenges remain, and what happens next in strengthening global pandemic preparedness.

What you’ll learn

Learnings from COVID-19 – the need for speed, effective vaccines, therapeutics, and surveillance, and what the world should do differently next time.

The role of governments – a call for pandemic preparedness investment on par with defence spending, and for the global scientific community to lead where political action lags.

Equity and access – proposals for a global pandemic fund and tiered pricing models to ensure equitable access across low-, middle-, and high-income countries.

Predictions for future pandemics – discussion on the pathogens most likely to cause the next global outbreak, and debate over whether host-targeted therapies or direct-acting antivirals will be more effective.

Featured Experts

Professor Sharon Lewin – Director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics

Professor David Ho – Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Columbia University

Professor Linfa Wang – Director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme, Duke-NUS Medical School

Professor Nanshan Zhong – Director of the National Clinical Research Centre of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Laboratory

Apoorva Mandavilli – Global Health and Science Writer, The New York Times

This bonus episode of Off Script is hosted by Rebecca Elliott and produced by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics, part of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity. 

Keep up to date on our work via https://www.doherty.edu.au/cumming-global-centre-for-pandemic-therapeutics. 

What You'll Learn:

Economic blind spot - How Australia's pre-pandemic plans overlooked economic impacts.

The $3 billion weekly cost - Quantifying lockdowns' massive economic impact and how therapeutics could dramatically reduce restrictive measures in future pandemics.

Risk-based decision making - Why having treatments available transforms political leaders' risk calculations, enabling more nuanced responses than "zero tolerance" approaches.

Trust and communication challenges - Lessons from COVID-19 on science communication, why advice changes as evidence evolves, and building public trust for future pandemic responses.

Platform technology promise - How preparedness investments in foundational research infrastructure could enable rapid response to unknown future pathogens.

CDC establishment - Australia's new Centre for Disease Control and how it will coordinate research, evidence, and rapid response for future pandemics.

Equity and accessibility imperative - Why therapeutics must be widely available and trusted to truly make a difference, especially for the most vulnerable populations.

Global investment reality - The scale of funding needed for pandemic preparedness and why the returns far outweigh the costs.

Featured Experts

Dr. Angela Jackson - Health economist and co-leader of Australia's independent COVID-19 inquiry, revealing how economic planning failures prolonged lockdowns and why therapeutic availability changes everything for future pandemic management.

Professor Michael Kidd - Australia's Chief Medical Officer, outlining the comprehensive infrastructure being built for pandemic preparedness, from the Australian CDC to international research collaborations.

Professor Brett Sutton - Former Victorian Chief Health Officer and current CSIRO researcher, exploring the science communication challenges ahead and how therapeutics could provide crucial protection for society's most vulnerable.

Professor Sharon Lewin - Doherty Institute Director, assessing Australia's pandemic preparedness progress while highlighting the trust and global cooperation challenges that remain.

Off Script is hosted by Dr. Matt Agnew and produced by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics, part of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity. 

Keep up to date on our work via https://www.doherty.edu.au/cumming-global-centre-for-pandemic-therapeutics. 

What You'll Learn:

Pacific resilience - How Pacific Island nations' experience with natural disasters creates unique strengths and vulnerabilities in pandemic response.

Health system flexibility - Why limited resources sometimes breed innovation, and how Pacific health workers adapt to multiple crisis situations.

Therapeutic advantage - How having treatments available could help countries reopen borders and return to normal faster than vaccines alone.

Global collaboration in action - The cross-border support systems that make Pacific pandemic response possible, from emergency medical teams to resource sharing.

Pandemic agreement breakthrough - The world's second global health treaty and how it will ensure equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics.

The preparedness gap - Why high-income countries failed while some "poorly prepared" nations succeeded, and what this teaches us about true pandemic readiness.

Investment ecosystem revealed - The complex pipeline from university research to patient treatment, and why all stages matter.

Featured Experts

Dr. Gina Samaan - WHO Regional Emergency Director explaining how Pacific health systems adapt to constant challenges and why therapeutics are crucial for future preparedness

Professor Michel Kazatchkine - Former Global Fund Executive Director and Member of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness, sharing lessons from COVID-19's devastating impact on global health programs.

The technology exists. The investment is flowing. The question now is: will we be ready?

Off Script is hosted by Dr. Matt Agnew and produced by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics, part of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity.

What You'll Learn:

Platform technology power - Why mRNA is like "IKEA furniture" – modular components that can be quickly assembled to respond to different viruses

Melbourne's mRNA ecosystem - How Victoria's 25-year investment in medical research led to securing both Moderna and BioNTech manufacturing facilities.

The messenger explained - Understanding how mRNA works as nature's instruction manual, delivering recipes to cells to produce therapeutic proteins.

Beyond vaccines - How mRNA is being developed as a therapeutic for cancer treatment, HIV cure research, and respiratory pathogens.

Delivery innovation - The breakthrough research turning therapeutic mRNA into inhalable aerosols that target the lungs directly.

Investment pipeline - The complex journey from university discovery to patient treatment, and why platform technologies accelerate development.

Speed advantage - How mRNA can be designed and ordered online, enabling rapid response to future pandemic threats.

Featured Experts

Dr. Amanda Caples - Victoria's Lead Scientist and Chair of mRNA Victoria's Science Advisory Group, explaining how mRNA works and Victoria's strategic investment in the technology

Dr. Paula Cevaal - Doherty Institute researcher pioneering mRNA therapeutics, including revolutionary delivery methods that could transform pandemic response

Devon Sok - Head of Science at Global Health Investment Corporation, revealing the investment ecosystem that brings breakthrough technologies from lab to patient

What's Coming Next

Episode 4 explores how these breakthrough technologies can reach everyone, everywhere – especially in developing countries where health systems are most vulnerable. Discover the global collaboration needed to ensure pandemic therapeutics reach those who need them most.

Off Script is hosted by Dr. Matt Agnew and produced by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics, part of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity.

What You'll Learn:

The political perspective - Why Health Minister Mark Butler sees pandemic preparedness as both a health imperative and a matter of national security

Victoria's billion-dollar bet - How the Victorian Government's $1 billion investment over 10 years is positioning Melbourne as a global biotech powerhouse.

Manufacturing sovereignty - The game-changing Moderna facility that will produce 100 million vaccine doses annually, securing Australia's pandemic independence.

Regional leadership - How Australia's new capabilities will support our Pacific neighbours and establish us as a middle power in global health.

Lab life revealed - Go inside the Doherty Institute's cutting-edge laboratories where CRISPR technology and flow cytometry are accelerating discoveries. 

Gender matters: Male and female immune systems respond dramatically differently to threats - yet we typically treat them identically.

Featured Experts

The Hon. Mark Butler MP - Federal Health Minister explaining why therapeutics are crucial for hospital system resilience and pandemic preparedness.

The Hon. Danny Pearson MP - Victorian Medical Research Minister on why Melbourne is attracting global talent and the economic power of medical breakthroughs

Professor Laura McKay - Doherty Institute immunologist sharing her journey from aspiring artist to virus hunter and the collaborative magic of Melbourne's research precinct.

What’s Coming Next

Episode 3 dives deep into the cutting-edge technology being developed in these very labs. From AI-powered drug discovery to revolutionary therapeutic platforms, discover how Australian scientists are racing to solve the therapeutic development timeline.

The future of pandemic preparedness is being built right here in Melbourne. Don't miss the next episode of what could be the most important scientific story of our time.

Off Script is hosted by Dr. Matt Agnew and produced by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics, part of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity.

What You'll Learn: 

The breakthrough that started it all - How the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity made history as the first lab outside China to map the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2, and the crucial decision to share it with the world immediately. 

Therapeutics vs. vaccines explained - The key difference between preventing illness and treating it once you're infected (spoiler: we need both!)

The staggering investment gap - Why $190 billion went to vaccine development while only $7 billion was invested in therapeutics by 2021. 

The global perspective - World Health Organization's Sir Jeremy Farrar reveals why therapeutic development lagged behind and what it means for pandemic preparedness.

The speed problem - Why current drug development takes too long for pandemic response and the innovative technologies being developed to change that.

Featured Experts

Professor Sharon Lewin - Director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, internationally renowned HIV researcher, and Director of the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics.

Sir Jeremy Farrar - Assistant Director General at the World Health Organization, former Director of the Wellcome Trust, and author of "Spike".

What's Coming Next

Episode 2 dives into Australia's moonshot goal to develop pandemic therapeutics for the whole world. Discover the incredible medical research capability being built right here in Melbourne's biomedical precinct.

Subscribe now so you don't miss what might be the most important podcast series you hear all year. Because when it comes to pandemics, preparation isn't just smart policy - it's a matter of life and death.

Off Script is hosted by Dr. Matt Agnew and produced by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics, part of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity.