Global vaccine market now exceeds $20B

According to a recent report by Kalorama Information, the world market for preventative vaccines totaled $22.1 billion in 2009, up from $19 billion in 2008, and is projected to increase at a compound annual rate of 9.7 percent over the next five years, so long as advances within the field continue to be made.

“Vaccines 2010: World Market Analysis, Key Players, and Critical Trends in a Fast-Changing Industry,” notes that vaccines are divided into two target markets, adult and pediatric. However, the pediatric market accounts for more than half of the total market and is growing at a faster rate than the adult market.

Pneumococcal and “combination” DTaP vaccines drive the pediatric sector, the report revealed, while influenza and hepatitis vaccines drive sales in the adult sector. Increased acceptance and new products will cause growth in the adult vaccine sector in future.

“We’ve forecasted a high growth rate for vaccines over the past few years and market events have matched our predictions,” said Bruce Carlson, publisher of Kalorama Information.

“The vaccine business is not without its risks, but for some companies, vaccines were the only bright spot in their portfolio in 2009," he added. "It’s not a surprise, therefore, that development is heavy in this sector, and that will contribute to growth over the next five years.”

Five pharmaceutical companies currently dominate the vaccine market: Merck & Co, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi Pasteur, Pfizer and Novartis. According to Kalorama, GlaxoSmithKline leads these five firms with almost a quarter of the world’s market in 2009 – due, in part, to the influenza vaccines Fluvarix and Hibarix.

All five companies have focused their marketing and research strategies on winning greater parts of the vaccine market.