Key Finding

Adaptations to existing vaccines account for half of vaccine R&D projects

The 2017 Access to Vaccines Index has evaluated the pipelines of eight vaccine companies: Daiichi Sankyo, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Inc., Pfizer, Sanofi, Serum Institute of India and Takeda. The industry is responding to cases where existing vaccines need to be adapted: such projects account for 48% of projects in the pipeline (43/89), with one project aiming for multiple adaptations.

The characteristics of a vaccine – such as its thermostability, number of doses required, or the serotypes it targets – have a substantial impact on how immunisation programmes can be effectively implemented, particularly in low-resource settings. Often, the best combination of characteristics becomes apparent once a vaccine has been rolled out in real-world settings. Once this happens, further R&D is required to improve the vaccine.

Figure 8: Vaccine adaptations account for half of R&D projects; individual company pipelines vary

^{* Serum Institute of India's pipeline is based on publicly available sources. It has additional projects for which the data are confidential.}

Some 30% of adaptive R&D projects involve multivalent vaccines. For example, Serum Institute of India is developing a 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV). It targets the serotypes prevalent in 70% of the population affected by pneumococcal disease in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Meanwhile, 28% of adaptive R&D projects focus on either characterising or improving the temperature stability of a vaccine, and 44% target a range of other improvements, including in efficacy, immunisation schedules, yield of production, or formulations to allow for easier administration.

Companies are working on wide variety of vaccine adaptations
Taken as a group, the 43 adaptive R&D projects are diverse, with companies working toward a wide variety of adaptations. For example, GSK is characterising the thermostability of its PCV Synflorix®; Sanofi is doing the same for its cholera vaccine Shanchol®; and in 2015, Merck & Co., Inc. received Controlled Temperature Chain approval for its HPV vaccine Gardasil®. Five projects focus on approving vaccines for use in lower age groups: including GSK for influenza vaccines and Sanofi for a meningoccocal vaccine. Serum Institute of India received approval in late 2014 for children under one year to receive a 5 µg dose of its meningococcal A vaccine (MenAfriVac®).

Figure 9: Companies are working toward a wide variety of vaccine adaptations

^{Companies have 43 adaptive vaccine R&D projects for diseases in scope. Adaptive R&D projects for multivalent vaccines are the most common, followed by temperature-stability projects.}

When setting prices, all companies consider countries’ Gavi status – most also consider GNI per capita

The 2017 Access to Vaccines Index asked six companies which factors they consider when setting vaccine prices. Collectively, they consider 18 diverse factors when setting vaccine prices, with the most attention being paid to the conditions (not least economic conditions) in a given country. Indeed, the only factor considered by all six companies is a country’s eligibility for Gavi support. The six companies asked were: GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Inc., Pfizer, Sanofi and Serum Institute of India.

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Adaptations to existing vaccines account for half of vaccine R&D projects

Explore further

When setting prices, all companies consider countries’ Gavi status – most also consider GNI per capita

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