Shingles Vaccine MarketSize and Trends

Global Shingles Vaccine Market Dynamics

The Zostavax vaccine, licensed by Merck & Co., Inc. in 2006, is an effective vaccine against shingles. The vaccine is intended for the use in population age 50 years and above. The trials of the Zostavax vaccine demonstrated that the vaccine was 64% effective in people aged 60 to 69 years. The effectiveness reduces with increasing age i.e. to 41% for the 70–79 age group, and 18% for those 80 years of age and above. The vaccine was launched in the India market in February 2016, at half the price of the U.S. market. Zostavax, is only shingles vaccine in the market that recorded sales of US$ 749 million in 2015.

In October 2016, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a global leader in vaccines market, filed for U.S. FDA approval for its shingles vaccine, ‘Shingrix’. Shingrix has demonstrated better outcomes than Zostavax in its clinical trials. The vaccine was 90% effective in people over 70 years of age. The overall effectiveness of the vaccine was found to be 97%. Its higher effectiveness even among geriatric population is projected to increase its adoption across the globe. This impressive trail results would put Shingrix in a strong competitive position in the global market, currently monopolized by Zostavax. The company is reported to have filed for regulatory approvals in the Europe and Canada markets in 2016, followed by Japan in 2017. It is estimated that the sales of Shingrix would reach US$ 1 billion by 2021.

The global shingles vaccine market is witnessing rapid influx of newer and expensive products. The industry is consolidated in nature however, new entrants are expected to emerge in the near future.

Global Shingles Vaccine Market Opportunity

Prevalence of shingles is increasing across the globe, fueled mainly by increasing geriatric population. However, high cost of vaccines is limiting vaccination in emerging economies, characterized by inadequate insurance coverage. The major concern among healthcare experts is reduction in postherpetic neuralgia from the shingles vaccine. Zostavax has been successful to a certain extent in reducing postherpetic neuralgia due to the effect of the vaccine on reducing risk of developing herpes zoster. Better outcomes of Shingrix would be a boon for highly lucrative global shingles vaccines market.