Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - (Page 10) Vaccines governments or other bodies promise to purchase a specified amount of a product if it is successfully developed. The goal is to stimulate research by guaranteeing a market to the manufacturer — provided that the product meets a particular profile. The first AMC, signed in 2007 by Canada, Italy, Norway, Russia, UK and the Gates Foundation, committed $1.5 billion to finance a pneumococcal vaccine for the world’s poorest countries. Vaccines that fit the profile are moving quickly to market. In early January 2009, GSK’s candidate pneumococcal vaccine, Synflorix, which protects against three additional pneumococcal strains, was recommended for approval. A 13-valent vaccine, developed by Wyeth, is due on the market later in 2009. Based on this progress, experts believe that a suitable vaccine in sufficient quantities can be rolled out as early as 2010, and can save 7 million lives by 2030. Pricing. The pneumococcal AMC also addresses price. At a specified point, after development costs have presumably been recouped, the agreement calls for manufacturers to drop down to a sustainable ‘tail price,’ or to license technology to other manufacturers. But for pharma to feel comfortable agreeing to a low, long-term price, they need good forecasts, and good forecasts are not generally available. A second AMC is already in development, but companies express caution. “These are all important initiatives,” says Fred Hassan, IFPMA president and CEO of Schering Plough. “But given that it takes 10 years to develop a drug, it’s not easy to implement these ideas because people and policies change over a number of years.” had begun to use tiered pricing in lowand middle-income countries to ensure the greatest availability of its products, while still recovering R&D costs from those who are able to pay. GSK’s vaccine pipeline may be an indication of how confident the company is about where the market is going. Bridging health and wealth Developing nations increasingly recognise that health and wealth are linked. Thus, even during a recession they will regard a vaccination programme as an investment. But the growing availability of vaccines is forcing nations to make hard choices. In many countries, a simple step like vaccinating for rotavirus, pneumococcal disease and HPV could quadruple the national vaccination budget. “The trouble is, even though they know vaccines are a good value, [policymakers] have to come up with the money to buy them,” says Cynthia Whitney, MD, pneumonia expert at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “We have an innovation pile up where some countries are looking at introducing five or even seven more vaccines in just a few years,” says Kate Taylor, vice president of global vaccine policy at GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals. “What we haven’t figured out is how to accelerate such a rapid expansion. We can’t make false choices. It’s not OK for a kid to die of rotavirus versus pneumococcal versus meningitis.” Ted Bianco, director of technology transfer for the Wellcome Trust, says some nations might revert to putting their dollars into time-tested vaccine solutions, like measles. It’s a situation pharma will have to address, at the same time allowing nations to catch up with vaccines from the past and to pilot them in the future. For the full version of this article, click here. Developing nations increasingly recognise that health and wealth are linked. Thus, even during a recession they will regard a vaccination programme as an investment. Companies that want to compete in developing markets must also adopt pricing strategies that capture subtle differences between markets. GSK, the largest supplier of vaccines to UNICEF, says it uses a hybrid volume-driven model that includes tiered pricing matched to a country’s ability to pay and the value of the vaccines. Even before buying UCB’s portfolio of drug rights, it 1 7 NEWS VACCINES 2 11 FROM THE EDITOR / NEWS STRATEGY 5 CALENDAR 6 BRUSSELS REPORT 12 ONLINE NETWORKING 15 ON THE MOVE http://pharmexec.findpharma.com/pharmexec/Special+Reports/Vaccines-for-All/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/580042?contextCategoryId=43837
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 Contents From the Editor News Calendar Brussels Report Vaccines Management Theory Online Networking On the Move Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - Contents (Page 1) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - From the Editor (Page 2) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - News (Page 3) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - News (Page 4) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - Calendar (Page 5) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - Brussels Report (Page 6) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - Vaccines (Page 7) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - Vaccines (Page 8) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - Vaccines (Page 9) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - Vaccines (Page 10) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - Management Theory (Page 11) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - Online Networking (Page 12) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - Online Networking (Page 13) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - Online Networking (Page 14) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 18, 2009 - On the Move (Page 15)
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