NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, May 23, 2016

The revenue growth opportunity in vaccines looks far more promising when compared to the overall market for pharmaceuticals. Revenues earned by vaccines manufacturers worldwide reached $27.6 billion in 2015 according to Kalorama Information, up 11% from $24.7 billion in 2014, as sales in all segments expanded (Figure 1). This is, by Kalorama’s estimate, at least five to ten times the revenue growth rate of the overall pharmaceutical market in recent years. The world vaccines market is predicted to increase at a compound annual rate of 7.6% during 2013–2022, reaching $45.1 billion in 2022 as new product introductions continue and usage of current products expands further.

Vaccines Market Basics

The vaccines market is generally categorized by pediatric and adult vaccines. Pediatric vaccines constitute the base market for vaccines and the larger market, accounting for 57.6% of the total vaccines market. Adult immunization is an important, but frequently overlooked, part of patient care.

Vaccination programs typically focus on children, yet adults in industrialized countries are more likely to die as a result of vaccine-preventable diseases than are children. Vaccination protects not only individuals, but also entire communities from diseases spread by person-to-person transmission. For example, vaccination can prevent about 50% of deaths from pneumococcal disease and 80% of deaths from influenza-related complications in the elderly. Pharmacoeconomic studies have demonstrated the value of influenza and pneumococcal vaccines; however, immunization rates for these diseases continue to be low in the elderly populations.

Immunizations by public providers are generally paid for through federal and state government funding under public health programs. These programs are intended to reduce barriers to immunization and to improve immunization rates by providing free vaccines to qualifying infants and children.