Too expensive
January 20, 2015
The humanitarian aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is calling on big pharmaceutical companies to reduce the cost of pneumococcal vaccines for children in developing countries.
In a statement, ahead of a major vaccines funding conference in Berlin next week, MSF describes the pharmaceutical industry as "secretive," and accuses it of purposefully concealing information on vaccine prices.
"A handful of big pharmaceutical companies are overcharging donors and developing countries for vaccines that already earn them billions of dollars in wealthy countries," says Rohit Malpani, policy and analysis director for MSF's access campaign.
'Irrational situation'
MSF's report, "The Right Shot," released on Tuesday (20.01.2015), says the cost of vaccinating a child is now 68 times more expensive than it was in 2001.
MSF is targeting its demand for lower prices toward the pneumococcal vaccine, since that alone accounts for nearly half of the total cost to vaccinate a child in the poorest countries.
"We have an irrational situation where some developing countries like Morocco and Tunisia are paying more for the pneumococcal vaccine than France does," says Kate Elder, an MSF vaccines policy advisor.
MSF specifically calls on GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer - two of the largest, international pharmaceutical companies - to reduce the cost of their pneumococcal vaccines to $5 (4.30 euros) per child in developing countries.
Pneumococcal infection, which includes pneumonia and meningitis, is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumonia.
The World Health Organization estimates such infections kill 1.6 million people per year, mostly in developing countries. It says up to 1 million of the dead are under the age of five.
'Advanced and complex' product
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has responded to MSF's claims, saying its pneumococcal vaccine, Synflorix, is "one of the most complex we've ever manufactured."
Citing the "significant upfront capital investment" required to produce the vaccine, GSK says that to discount Synflorix would threaten the company's ability to supply it.
Pfizer has also responded. It says its pneumococcal vaccine, Prevenar 13, "is one of the most complex biologic products ever developed and manufactured."
"Each one of the 13 individual components (13 serotypes of the pneumococcal bacteria, which cause pneumococcal disease) requires a separate process for purification, conjugation and testing," says a statement from Pfizer. "It takes more than two years to create one batch of Prevenar 13."
Lead-up to funding conference
Pfizer emphasizes its participation in the Advance Market Commitment of Gavi, an international vaccine alliance. "Pfizer has also committed to providing Prevenar 13 until 2025 at a reduced price to countries who no longer qualify for Gavi-AMC support," the statement says.
A Gavi conference hosted by the German government next week will seek to mobilize $7.5 billion (6.5 billion euros) in funding from G7 countries to immunize 300 million children from 2016 to 2020.
"Immunization is one of the most cost-effective and impactful investments we can make to improve the health of children in the world's poorest countries," says Gerd Müller, head of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The conference takes place on January 27 in Berlin. MSF's Kate Elder expects governments to back the call for lower prices.
"Governments need to put pressure on companies to offer better prices to Gavi and the countries it supports," says Elder. "We need to put public health before profit - life-saving vaccines for children shouldn't be big business in poor countries."