Council Structure

The initial Council was comprised of 1 representative from each of Roche, GSK, Atorus, and Janssen/J&J. During 2023 and 2024, the Council expanded by 3 organizations, the first being Novo Nordisk followed by Appsilon and Sanofi. In 2025, Novartis joined the Council. Each council member puts forward one representative for a 2-year commitment. At the start of each subsequent year, any Council member organization with an expiring commitment may remain on the Council with a renewed 2-year commitment. If a Council member organization leaves, they will be replaced by another Organization with one representative and a 2-year commitment. There is no restriction on the type of organization that may be part of the Council (e.g., pharma, CRO, vendor, or regulatory). In the event of a vacancy on the Council, any Council member may nominate a replacement organization to fill the vacancy. Alternatively, any organization believing they could make an impact (and able to meet the expectations below) could reach out to any Council member to apply. Acceptance to the Council 2-year term is granted by the existing council, inclusive of outgoing membership.

It is expected that a Council member organization contribute:

• One representative to the Council
• Commitment to at least 2 open source packages under pharmaverse via reviews, hands-on code development, product leads, or other roles which contribute to the design, development, testing, release, and/or maintenance

Any council member organization must fulfill our DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) criteria as outlined below:

Pharmaverse is committed to establishing a diverse council that effectively represents the community members with whom it engages. To be considered for inclusion in the council as a sponsor organization, organizations must meet at least two of the criteria listed below. Existing council member organizations will be vested in, provided that they currently meet the conditions or commit to achieving them within a six-month timeframe.

1. Mission Statement and Policies: The company published a mission statement, vision, or set of policies centered around equitable access and inclusivity, clearly outlining its commitment to DEI.
2. Training and Professional Development: The company provides and requires professional development, training, and education on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging topics for all employees.
3. Programs and Supportive Structures: The company established and maintains diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging programs such as affinity groups, employee resource groups, mentoring, and internal sponsorship to foster an inclusive environment.
4. Recruitment and Retention: The company implements a diversity retention and recruitment strategy to attract and retain a diverse workforce.
5. Accountability and Bias Response: The company holds employees accountable for actively participating in an inclusive culture of belonging and has a process in place to address bias incidents.
6. Equitable Pay and Monitoring: The company monitors equitable pay across the organization to ensure fair compensation for all employees.
7. Data-Driven Approach: The company takes a data-driven approach to equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives, including public or easily accessible data on diversity retention and diversity in leadership, as well as measurable goals that management and executive leadership are held accountable for meeting.
8. Community Integration and Support: The company integrates equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging efforts to add value to the local community, such as through the donation of time, resources, or money to underrepresented community populations or support for local socially equitable policies.

Council Member Terms

Council Activities

(What does the Council do?)

• Renders (or delegates the rendering of) the ‘curated’ element of ‘a curated set of packages’
• Sets the strategy for pharmaverse
• Governs packages within the pharmaverse: What’s in and what’s out; What’s recommended to practitioners and what’s not; Sets the requirements for a package to be included in the pharmaverse
• Support organizations developing candidate packages
• Provides guidance on release train planning (ongoing maintenance, development and release): Determines the platform(s) to distribute code; Oversees the Communications plan for new package releases (including new versions)
• Initiates projects or workshops
• Pursues regulatory engagement to advance the pharmaverse initiative
• Provides oversight for managed contracts for collaborations - to ensure no conflicts – NOT LEGAL GUIDANCE!
• Leads by example – models Development Team structure and collaborative model
• Determines the course of the ‘pharmaverse’ as an entity: Does it become a stand-alone organization? Does it require funding? Should it be self-sufficient?
• Helps new open source contributors find projects they may support

Any decision rendered by the Council will be determined by majority vote of the Council membership where at least 60% of the Council is present. In the event of a tie, keep talking and figure it out.

Council Meetings

• Monthly - 1h agenda from topics as described above (to be determined by Council members)
• From start of 2023, summary minutes will be posted openly here
• There is an expectation of Council member action items to be completed between Council meetings