ADULT VACCINES MARKET ANALYSIS

The high development cost of adult vaccines can hamper the global adult vaccines market growth. Developing an efficient and safe vaccine requires extensive research and clinical trials over many years. This lengthy and rigorous research process increases development costs. Setting up large scale manufacturing facilities to produce millions of doses also involves substantial capital investments. With higher development costs, vaccine makers need to recover their investments through product sales over many years. However, adult population requiring routine immunization is significantly smaller as compared to pediatric populations. This limited patient volume makes it difficult for companies to achieve adequate sales volumes needed to offset the high development expenditures in a short time. Furthermore, developmental challenges and regulatory hurdles increases costs. Adults have more complex immune systems compared to children, requiring more research to develop vaccines that can effectively trigger immune response in adult bodies. Regulatory agencies also mandate extensive clinical testing through various phases to establish safety and efficacy in adult populations before approval. This lengthy regulatory process from research to market approval can take 10-15 years. The related costs accumulated over this long cycle put pressure on pricing, once the vaccine is launched. With reduced profit margins and uncertain returns, vaccine makers demonstrate lack of interest in investing heavily into the development of new adult vaccines.

Market Opportunities: New disease indications

The discovery of additional disease indications for existing adult vaccines can drive the market growth. As scientists gain deeper understanding of the human body and microbiome, these are able to uncover additional pathogens and diseases that existing vaccines may be effective against. For example, recent studies have indicated certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), the target of HPV vaccines, may also play a role in developing some head and neck cancers. If clinical trials can prove HPV vaccines lower risks of these cancers as well, it would represent a major new indication that could widen the eligible population for vaccination worldwide. Similarly, research is ongoing into whether pneumococcal and herpes zoster vaccines approved for older adults may also offer cross-protection against diseases like influenza or even coronary heart disease. Finding evidence to support new preventative indications would considerably increase the public health impact and uptake of these vaccines. Future trends in disease progression and epidemiology also create opportunities. As global populations age in many countries and non-communicable diseases rise, there will be growing demand for vaccines that protect against diseases such as pneumonia and shingles that disproportionately threaten older adults. Furthermore, changes in disease patterns mean certain populations now face higher risk profiles than in the past.  Global rise of obesity and associated health conditions can lead to diabetes epidemic. This increases vulnerability to other diseases, raising the need for prevention options such as an effective influenza vaccine for adults with diabetes.