The big picture for vaccines
Re “Vaccine industry is being revived,” Jan. 28
The Times hints at an upbeat future for vaccine development, thanks almost entirely to increased funding from government and charitable sources. However, the real story being reported here is that the for-profit pharmaceutical sector has sacrificed millions of lives around the world by refusing to carry out unprofitable vaccine research for many decades. This free-market failure has been exacerbated by the for-profit health insurance industry, which is disinclined to pay the cost of vaccines, further reducing the market and simultaneously creating a dangerously vulnerable population. Putting our healthcare in the hands of pharmaceutical companies and health insurers has resulted in an atrocity of unimaginable proportions. Human lives, including yours and mine, will be cheerfully traded away for a bigger bottom line.
STACY BERMINGHAM
San Diego
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Vaccines are the most effective prevention tool that medicine has to offer. With three new vaccines coming to market last year, and advancement on others, the vaccine industry is on the move, bringing hope for those at risk of all kinds of disease. It’s true we have further to go to find a vaccine for HIV/AIDS, but the last few years have seen progress. There are now 33 AIDS vaccine candidates being tested in humans on every continent. Key clinical trial data regarding the most advanced candidates are due in 2008-2009. But more needs to be done to accelerate discovery, including:
* Sustained funding to overcome scientific roadblocks;
* Improved scientific infrastructure in developing countries;
* Novel ways to work with the private sector. Today, industry accounts for less than 10% of AIDS vaccine development investment.
New prevention technologies, such as vaccines, are the best answer to curbing the world’s biggest infectious killers. Millions of the world’s citizens are depending on them.
SETH F. BERKLEY MD
President and chief executive officer
The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
New York
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This article misses some significant issues that hinder innovation and vaccine and drug discovery. Many of even the most altruistic and passionate biotech leaders believe that the poorest countries can ill afford new vaccines, and they therefore see little financial incentive to engage in product development against neglected diseases.
Recent research by BIO Ventures for Global Health, however, shows that new vaccines to prevent tuberculosis, for example, could reach potential global markets of $450 million to $1 billion. Such natural market forces are industry’s best motivator to engage in research and development. Where markets for new drugs and vaccines against other diseases may not be as strong as the one for TB vaccines, public sector incentives could enhance the market and spur innovation. Either way, we need to do a better job making the business case for conducting research and development against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Only then can we have a lasting and sustainable effect on global health.
CHRISTOPHER D. EARL
President and chief executive officer
BIO Ventures for Global Health
Washington
