World Health Organization (WHO) member states have concluded a week-long round of negotiations on the draft Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) Annex, a key component of the WHO Pandemic Agreement.[1] The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Pandemic Agreement (IGWG), established last year by the World Health Assembly (WHA), took place from 9 to 14 February 2026 and ended after productive discussions.[1] Countries have shown a strong commitment to finalizing the PABS Annex, with a clear vision to streamline the text and consultation on contentious points, as stated by IGWG Co-Chair from Brazil, Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes.[1] The other co-chair from Great Britain, Matthew Harpur, emphasized the serious engagement of the delegations, although important differences remain, and the importance of bridging the gaps in the coming weeks.[1] WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has expressed confidence in agreement on the PABS Annex in time for the World Health Assembly in May 2026, building on global cooperation in the adoption of the Pandemic Agreement last year.[1] Delegations negotiate the text of the annex, build consensus and collaborate with representatives of the private sector, academia, laboratories and databases of sequence information.[1] The aim is to present the final annex to the 79th World Health Assembly in 2026.[1][6]