Governments in Europe (and beyond) have begun to express grave concern about a number of acute, transnational health threats endangering their citizens and economies. Whether it is the spectre of a future pandemic, the threat of a bioterrorist attack, or the continuing burden of infectious diseases in many developing countries - strengthening the protection against transnational public health threats is increasingly viewed as an urgent matter of international politics. Ongoing efforts by the European Union to develop its own health security strategy will require the formation of effective and sustainable partnerships with numerous stakeholders, including the scientific, medical, and public health communities, as well as private industry – especially in the form of pharmaceutical companies. The latter are particularly crucial actors because of the prominent role that pharmaceutical therapies like vaccines, antivirals, antibiotics, etc. play in strengthening health security. Cooperation with the pharmaceutical industry is therefore necessary to ensure that the required drugs are available in sufficient quantities, in the places where they are needed, and at the right time. Yet very little – if anything – is actually known about the role of pharmaceutical companies in the formulation and implementation of health security policy. This crucial area not only remains under-researcher; it is, in fact, almost entirely un-researched. The core research challenge this project takes up, therefore, is to conduct the first systematic study of the role of pharmaceutical businesses in health security. The aim of the project is both to improve our understanding of the role that pharmaceutical companies play in shaping contemporary health security policy, and to explore how the emerging (but also politically sensitive) partnerships with pharmaceutical companies can be responsibly managed in the years ahead.