17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17)

IFPMA submitted a statement at the start of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17), which takes place 19-30 October in Yerevan, Armenia. Our statement is focused on item 11: digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources.

IFPMA supports the conservation objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and is ready to constructively engage in finding a workable multilateral solution for the use of DSI. Voluntary benefit-sharing should be linked to actual, material use of publicly available DSI on genetic resources linked to biodiversity and to the value generated from direct use.

However, the Cali Fund as currently designed is not set up for success. We encourage negotiators to use this COP as an opportunity to start a fundamental rethinking of its architecture toward a mechanism that attracts broader participation, supports biodiversity, preserves scientific openness, and delivers benefits efficiently.

The industry has a long track record of contributing to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use through monetary and non-monetary benefit-sharing, research collaborations, capacity building, responsible use of genetic resources, and the development of life-saving and life-enhancing medical innovation. As we set out in our publication Healthy People, Healthy Planet, the pharmaceutical industry plays a central role in protecting human health and increasingly recognizes that fulfilling this mission requires a healthy and biodiverse planet. Through company-level initiatives and decades of pre-competitive collaboration, IFPMA member companies are working to reduce their environmental impact and contribute positively to a healthy and biodiverse planet, while helping people live healthier and more productive lives. As demonstrated in our publication, the pharmaceutical industry contributes to 18 of the 23 Global Biodiversity Framework targets adopted at COP15.

We support evidence-based discussion and decision-making and therefore appreciate the work undertaken in preparation for COP17. We would like to highlight several issues that we believe are particularly important as we move forward.

First, the studies themselves make clear that the estimates are illustrative scenarios, not forecasts. More importantly, they acknowledge that there is currently no data source that allows the intensity of DSI use, or the share of a company's financial activity attributable to DSI, to be established at the firm level. Sector-level proxies and assumptions are therefore being used. We should avoid allowing modelled figures to create expectations that go beyond what the underlying evidence can support.

Second, we welcome the recognition that the distinction between direct and indirect use remains a critical issue requiring further work. For a research-intensive sector such as pharmaceuticals, this distinction is particularly important. Companies can have very different relationships with DSI, even within the same sector. A company's size, revenue, or sector cannot, in itself, demonstrate the extent to which it actually uses DSI or the value it derives from that use.

Third, for the private sector to consider participation, contributions to the Cali Fund need to provide meaningful legal certainty. In particular, companies need clarity that once they have contributed under the multilateral mechanism, they will not subsequently face additional or overlapping national or international monetary benefit-sharing obligations.

We note that documents on DSI prepared for COP17 acknowledge that avoiding stacking is not simply a question of administrative convenience. It is fundamental to creating a predictable framework and encouraging participation.

Going forward, discussions on a workable mechanism should be guided by the principles agreed by member states at COP15: efficiency, feasibility, practicality, legal certainty, consistency with open data access, benefits that outweigh costs, and no unnecessary barriers to research and innovation.

Our objective is a voluntary mechanism that is practical, proportionate, predictable, and capable of attracting broad participation, while ensuring that benefit-sharing is meaningfully connected to the actual role and value of DSI. We remain committed to working across stakeholders to establish a mechanism that supports and preserves both biodiversity and science.

Thank you.