• W Vandersmissen.
• SmithKline Beecham Biologicals, 89 Rue d l'Institut, 1330, Rixensart, Belgium.
• Vaccine. 2001 Feb 8; 19 (13-14): 1611-5.

AbstractIt is expected the world's vaccine market will show a robust growth over the next few years, yet this growth will predominantly come from introduction of new vaccines in industrialised countries. Economic market forces will increasingly direct vaccine sales and vaccine development towards the needs of markets with effective purchasing power. Yet the scientific and technological progress that drives the development of such innovative vaccines holds the promise of applicability for vaccines that are highly desirable for developing countries. Corrective measures that take into account economic and industrial reality must be considered to span the widening gap between richer and poorer countries in terms of availability and general use of current and recent vaccines. Such measures must help developing countries to get access to future vaccines for diseases that predominantly or exclusively affect them, but for which the poor economic prospects do not provide a basis for the vaccine industry to undertake costly research and development programmes. Recent initiatives such as GAVI, including the establishment of a reliable, guaranteed purchase fund, could provide a solution to the problem.

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