Vaccines: The New Blockbusters?
Not too long ago, the mere mention of the word “vaccine” caused most big pharma executives to break out into a cold sweat. Once derided as low margin products and potential market busters—once most populations are immunized the incidence of disease declines and the market begins to falter—vaccines, primarily pediatric ones, have made a huge comeback over the last five years.
One of the main reasons for the resurgence of the vaccine industry, was passage of US legislation that better-defined the legal obligations of vaccine makers and inclusion in the legislation of provisions that cap the size of awards made to persons claiming injury after vaccination. Another factor that contributed to the growing popularity of vaccines was emergence of the middle class in vast and concomitant improves in the healthcare systems of emerging markets that include South America, Asia and Africa. Unlike the mature vaccine markets in the US, Europe and Japan (because of low birthrates), the Asian, Latin American and African markets are poised for explosive growth over the next two decades.
In a recent article entitled “Vaccines-The Sustainable Blockbuster Business” Frost and Sullivan’s Senior Healthcare Analyst Barath Shankar Subramanian provides some interesting and insightful factoids about the vaccine industry. They are:
Pediatric vaccines are leading adult vaccines and represent the fastest growing segment of the global vaccine market
Europe is the world’s leading vaccine producer with over 90% of total production
The top five vaccine manufacturers (all big pharma companies) produce more than four-fifths of global vaccine revenues while other manufacturers (approximately 40) account for only one-fifth.
The North American market accounts for over 50 percent of the total spend on vaccines
North America and Europe supply only 14 percent of the world’s vaccine demand; the rest is met by suppliers in developing markets
Government investment, not-for-profit spending and industry alliances/ partnerships, in addition to private R&D spending, are helping to drive the current resurgence of the global vaccine industry
At present, there no fewer than 80 new candidates in late stage clinical development. Further, almost 40 per cent of the new vaccine candidates are for indications that currently have no vaccines on the market. Finally, improvements in vaccine delivery are helping to drive the improved uptake of vaccines. For example, aerosols, transdermal skin patches, oral drops and even pills—all designed to eliminate needles and improve patient compliance and overcome cold chain supply issues are currently being developed.
From a business perspective—as far as sustainable markets go—the pediatric segment of the vaccine market is a clear winner. Currently, the leading global causes of vaccine-preventable, deaths for children under five include: pneumococcal disease, rotavirus, measles, Hemophilus influenzae b (Hib) infections, pertussis and tetanus. To that end, it is likely that governments in emerging markets will continue to add existing and new vaccines to government-mandated immunization programs. This is almost certain to propel the vaccine market to new heights over the next 10 years or more.
Until next time...
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (think biologics!)
Merck & Co. Inc., and Avecia Investments Limited 
Flu season is upon us and, not surprisingly, there is no dearth of information available to the public about the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines. Mostly there are stories about the lack of availability of the vaccines, underreporting of deaths associated from H1N1 infections and perhaps, most importantly concerns about flu vaccine safety. Despite attempts by the CDC and a few dedicated virologists like 
to set up manufacturing and research operations in Ireland? In my opinion, the recent Irish pharma and biotech explosion has little to do with luck and everything to do with strategic vision, excellent planning and a well trained, inexpensive workforce.
