VACCINE TECHNOLOGIES MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Challenges And Opportunities

Global Vaccine Technologies Market Drivers:

• Global Health Concerns and Pandemics: Outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, drive the need for rapid vaccine development. The urgency to protect populations from deadly diseases creates a demand for innovative vaccine technologies that can expedite the research, development, and production of effective vaccines. For instance, according to data published in January 2021 by the National Library of Medicine, globally, there were 7,039,918 confirmed cases of Covid 19 and 404,396 deaths in 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) a pandemic on March 11, 2020.
• Increasing adoption of inorganic growth strategies such as agreements: Increasing adoption of inorganic growth strategies such as agreements is expected to drive the growth of the market over the forecast period. For instance, on August 29, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the signing of new agreements with Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) for a COVID-19 vaccine prototype. The agreement includes plant visits and training, direct assistance, and ongoing consultation with recipient manufacturers, including on quality and regulatory matters.
• Rising Government Support to Surge Immunization Campaigns: Various governments have taken initiatives to increase awareness regarding vaccination. Government organizations are focused on launching strategies and public campaigns to eliminate epidemics and raise awareness, which is expected to drive the market growth in the near future. For instance, in July 2022, the government of New Delhi, India, launched a 75-day COVID Vaccination Amrit Mahotsav. During the campaign, citizens above 18 years of age were given precautionary doses free of cost at government COVID vaccination centers.
• Increasing Research and Development Activities by Key Market Players: Researchers and pharmaceutical companies such as GPN Vaccines Ltd, Merck & Co., Inc., Sanofi, etc. are focused on targeting diseases with no existing vaccine for various age groups to meet the needs of affected people in developing countries. For instance, on August 7, 2023, GPN Vaccines Ltd, a biotechnology company, announced that the Phase I clinical trial of Gamma-PN is fully recruited. The Phase I clinical trial is assessing the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of Gamma-PN, a novel broad-spectrum pneumococcal vaccine. 117 healthy volunteers aged 50-69 have been recruited, with the final cohort of 39 participants having received at least one dose of the Gamma-PN vaccine or a placebo or a licensed pneumococcal vaccine currently used in Australia.

Global Vaccine Technologies Market Opportunities:

• Increasing License Agreement among Key Market Players: Market players are focused on adopting organic growth strategies such as license agreement in order to expand their product portfolio. For instance, in September 2020, Shionogi & Co., Ltd., a pharmaceutical company, and HanaVax Inc., a drug-discovery venture company originating from the University of Tokyo, announced that they had entered into a license agreement for research, development, manufacturing, distribution, and commercialization of HanaVax’s Streptococcus pneumoniae nasal vaccine candidate.
• Facility Expansion: The key players in the market are highly focused on expanding their healthcare facilities to increase the production capacity and research and development activities for introducing new vaccines, which is expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period. For instance, in July 2022, Pfizer Inc., a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, spent US$ 470 Bn to expand its vaccine research facilities 25 miles northwest of New York City. The company would construct a new building and renovate existing facilities on its campus in Pearl River, New York, which has been the nexus of laboratory research driving its vaccine programs, including the one for COVID-19 in partnership with BioNTech SE, a biotechnology company.
• Product Launch: The increasing adoption of organic growth strategies by the key market players, such as product launch, which is expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period. For instance, in March 2022, VBI Vaccines Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, announced the commercial launch of PreHevbrio, the only U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved 3-antigen hepatitis B virus vaccine for adults. PreHevbrio is the only vaccine that mimics all three surface antigens of the hepatitis B virus and was proven to provide adults with significantly higher seroprotection.
• Emerging Markets and Global Health Initiatives: Expanding access to vaccines in low- and middle-income countries presents a substantial opportunity. Organizations like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, are working to improve vaccine access in these regions, creating a demand for affordable and adaptable vaccine technologies.

Global Vaccine Technologies Market Restraints:

• Regulatory Challenges: Stringent regulatory processes for vaccine approval and post-marketing surveillance can slow down the development and commercialization of new vaccine technologies. Navigating complex regulatory pathways can be time-consuming and costly. Stringent regulations also limit the scope of improvements in existing vaccines. Regulatory agencies cautiously evaluate any change in established vaccines, even if the change is minor. This regulatory caution is justified given the sensitivity involved with public health vaccines. However, it also discourages iterative innovation. Vaccine developers are reluctant to invest in incremental vaccine improvements due to high costs and risks of restarting the long approval process from the beginning.
• High Development Costs: The high development costs associated with vaccine technology are a major barrier restraining the growth of the vaccine market. There are extensive research and development costs associated with discovering the pathogen, developing the vaccine candidate, conducting pre-clinical testing on animals, and then progressing through multiple phases of human clinical trials to establish safety and efficacy. For instance, according to data published in September 2020, by INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, Vaccine research and development and manufacturing are expensive. Estimates of total research and development costs range from roughly US$ 200 Bn to US$ 500 Bn per successful vaccine, inclusive of sunk costs for failures.
• Supply Chain Disruptions: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains for vaccine production and distribution. Supply chain disruptions can impact the availability of critical components and hinder timely vaccine manufacturing.
• Counterbalance: Adopting strategies such as multi-site sourcing and demand allocation, Contingency planning and efficiency improvement, Supplier development and information sharing, etc. can help overcome supply chain disruptions.