Vaccine Marketing

Abstract

Long perceived as an unattractive segment of the pharmaceutical industry, most of the leading fi rms have stepped up vaccine investments in recent years. Unlike mainstream pharmaceuticals, vaccines generally treat healthy individuals, most are administered only once or very infrequently during a life time, and they engender positive externalities, because vaccinated individuals reduce the risk of transmission to unvaccinated persons, leading authorities to mandate some vaccinations. Resistance to vaccination may lead to immunization failure and disease resurgence.The public and private market each account for about one-half of the global vaccine market in value. Bringing new vaccines to market requires carefully orchestrated programs targeting the multiple types of customers. For example, in parallel with the clinical development program designed to obtain FDA approval for its HPV vaccine Gardasil, Merck developed health-economic evidence to obtain a positive recommendation for vaccination and public fi nancing. Physician educational programs and unbranded DTC campaigns were started many months prior to launch. Following FDA approval and positive vaccination and public fi nancing recommendations, Merck developed market access programs targeted at states and private insurers, and launched branded physician and DTC campaigns.Successful global diffusion of a vaccine generally requires the development of a tiered pricing policy which takes country differences in per capita income into account.A successful launch often creates new problems for vaccine marketers. They must maintain the motivation to engage in and pay for vaccination despite the quasi-disappearance of the disease. And they must combat anti-vaccination information claiming that the vaccine is the cause of serious side effects.

Economics of East Coast fever: a literature review

“…A number of articles discuss the political-economic complexity of vaccine markets as both a symptom of private market ineffectiveness for vaccine delivery and a cause of ineffective at supporting private and/or optimal social demand for various reasons. Angelmar and Morgon ( 60 ) suggest that private demand is weak relative to socially optimal demand because of positive externalities associated with vaccination ( 61 – 63 ). The existence of positive externalities provide an economic motivation for public involvement in the supply and distribution of vaccines.…”