[Editor’s Note: We do not endorse or receive any support from any companies that produce market research analysis on the vaccine marketplace. But we are interested in the market growth of vaccines as a dimension of our focus on ethics and policy, so we will occasionally report scaling projections and other data from such reports.]

“The global vaccine market is expected to achieve $34 billion in sales by 2012. With an estimated annual growth rate of 14% during the next five years, vaccines will be the fastest-growing therapeutic area, even outpacing oncology,” according to Research & Markets, a market research firm.

Observations made in the abstract for this report include:
– “…One of the most striking vaccine advances in recent years is active immunotherapies, including the April 2010 FDA approval of Dendreon’s Provenge, a personalized vaccine targeting prostate cancer. Active immunotherapy stimulates the patient’s immune system to fight cancer while sparing the patient most of the adverse side effects associated with chemotherapy, radiation, and other biologics that target antigens. The anti-cancer activity persists long after a course of treatment. These vaccines feature new modes of action and present opportunities for development of combination therapies to provide exceptional long-term tumor control. Therapeutic vaccines are also being researched for the treatment of HIV, hepatitis C, and more.
– “Novel delivery techniques will help improve access, compliance, and safety, particularly in developing nations. One such system, nanoemulsion, is an oil-based liquid placed in the nose. It has been shown to produce a strong immune response against smallpox and HIV. Virtually any bacterial or viral disease that results in an immune response is a candidate for the development of a nanoemulsion-based vaccine.
– “Innovation among start-up companies is one of the main factors behind the renewed interest in vaccines. Top vaccine manufacturers seek collaboration with academia and small biotech firms in the early phases of development. As the industry continues to evolve, there will be many opportunities for collaboration and public-private partnerships, like the one GlaxoSmithKline established with Brazil’s Oswaldo Cruz Foundation to develop and manufacture vaccines for urgent South American public health priorities. Moving forward, vaccine partners must continue to identify unmet public health needs and accelerate innovative vaccine R&D to create novel solutions.
– “While vaccines are less susceptible to erosion by generic competition because the cost of entry is extremely high, as vaccine formulations become more precise and defined, the vaccines sector will likely follow the lead of the biotech industry toward the production of biosimilar and biobetter vaccines. India and China are emerging as competitors in this area. Both countries have exhibited great skill in copying old vaccines and are becoming increasingly adept at copying new technology, with India having become the largest global producer of copied vaccines.”
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/product/f29684/vaccines_review_and_outlook_2010