Collaboration to give employers access to expert leadership, next-generation biological intelligence
WASHINGTON, DC, Sept. 16 — Business Group on Health and BioRadar today announced the formation of a strategic partnership to advance workforce readiness for emerging biological threats such as infectious disease outbreaks, pandemics and bioterrorism.
The groundbreaking collaboration reflects a shared commitment to help employers prepare for and respond to biological threats before they escalate into widespread health concerns and business disruptions. As a result of the partnership, employers will help to shape the next generation of biological intelligence tools so that workforce needs, business continuity considerations and public health priorities are considered from the outset.
“The health, well-being, safety and productivity of the workforce increasingly depends on timely insight into emerging biological threats,” said Ellen Kelsay, president and CEO of Business Group on Health, the leading non-profit organization representing employers’ perspectives on optimizing workforce strategy through innovative health, benefits and well-being solutions and on health policy issues.
Kelsay added, “Employers need visibility, intelligence and proactive planning tools, rather than relying solely on public health alerts. At the same time, employers are uniquely poised to help mitigate biological crises, in no small part because they have direct access to large segments of the population and the ability to communicate and take action. The partnership will translate biological intelligence into practical business value for employers, including earlier awareness of emerging threats, more informed workforce and benefits decisions, stronger preparedness and response planning, better protection for employees and their families, and reduced operational disruption. Business Group on Health members will also have an opportunity to inform the development of next-generation tools so that employer needs, decision timelines, and business-continuity considerations are built into the solutions from the outset.”
The public benefit corporation BioRadar, founded by Dr. Ashish Jha and Dr. Nikki Romanik, is the first continuously operating, AI-enabled biological intelligence service. It is designed to detect emerging threats before they spread, characterize risk in real time and deliver decision-ready intelligence to those who need it most.
“COVID-19 proved that biological events create profound health and well-being, workforce, operational and economic consequences for employers,” said Dr. Jha, co-founder of BioRadar and former White House COVID-19 response coordinator. “Employers learned during COVID that waiting until a biological threat is widespread leaves very few good options. This partnership is about giving employers earlier, decision-ready intelligence – and involving them directly in building the tools they need to protect their people and sustain their operations when the next biological threat emerges.”
Dr. Jha also served as dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and held faculty appointments at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Dr. Romanik, who served as deputy director and chief of staff of the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, said BioRadar’s first-of-its-kind partnership with the Business Group would allow employers to make earlier, more informed decisions in the face of biological threats.
“Novel and engineered pathogens, not just known diseases, are unfortunately a very real risk,” Dr. Romanik said. “BioRadar integrates environmental, clinical and other data streams to identify unusual biological activity and help detect known, novel and potentially engineered threats. Working with Business Group on Health will help us build that intelligence around decisions that employers actually need to make.”
Kelsay added, “As artificial intelligence accelerates both the promise and the potential risks of biotechnology, employers need a more proactive approach to biological preparedness. This partnership will give our members earlier insight, practical planning support and a meaningful voice in shaping the tools they may rely on to protect their people and sustain operations.”
About Business Group on Health
Business Group on Health is the leading non-profit organization representing employers’ perspectives on optimizing workforce strategy through innovative health, benefits and well-being solutions and on health policy issues. The Business Group keeps its membership informed of leading-edge thinking and action on health care cost and delivery, financing, affordability and experience with the health care system. Business Group members include the majority of Fortune 100 companies as well as public-sector employers, who collectively provide health and well-being programs for more than 60 million individuals in 200 countries. For more information, visit www.businessgrouphealth.org.
About BioRadar
BioRadar is the nation’s first continuously operating, AI-enabled biological intelligence service — designed to detect emerging threats before they spread, characterize risk in real time and deliver decision-ready intelligence to those who need it most. By bringing together environmental, clinical and other signals, BioRadar helps leaders identify emerging biological risks earlier and make more informed decisions to protect people and sustain operations. https://bioradarusa.com/