Skyrocketing vaccine leaves some children unimmunised

Some children are left unimmunised due to skyrocketing pricesof vaccine, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) warns.

The MSF report warns that it is the middle-income countries are not benefitting from vaccines.

However, it adds that progress means many countries are about to lose Gavi support.

It will happen to Angola within the next year and the country’s vaccine bill is expected to increase by 1,500%.

In a statement, Pfizer said it was “proud” of its vaccination commitments around the world.

It said: “The price of Prevenar 13 [the pneumococcal vaccine] reflects the fact that it is one of the most complex biologic products ever developed and manufactured.

“For example, each one of the 13 individual components requires a separate process for purification, conjugation and testing.

“It takes more than two years to create one batch of Prevenar 13, encompassing some 500 separate quality control tests prior to product release and distribution, multiple facilities and hundreds of trained professionals.”

GSK added: “Around 80% of all of GSK’s vaccines, including our pneumococcal vaccine, are provided to developing countries at a substantial discount to western prices.

“Our pneumococcal vaccine is one of the most complex we’ve ever manufactured, essentially combining 10 vaccines in one.

“For Gavi-eligible countries, we are providing this vaccine at a deeply discounted price. At this level, we are able to just cover our costs.

“To discount it further would threaten our ability to supply it to these countries in the long-term. Nevertheless, we continue to look at ways to reduce production costs and any savings we make we would pass on to Gavi.”

Category: Pharmaceuticals, Top Story