The global vaccine contract manufacturing market will reach $705.62m in 2014 according to new report

Friday 9 May 2014, Amsterdam

A new report calculates that the global vaccine contract manufacturing market will reach $705.62m in 2014 with revenues showing strong growth to 2024. These revenue forecasts and others appear in The latest report Vaccine Manufacturing Technology and Services: World Market 2014-2024.

Vaccine contract manufacturing (CM) is the practice of using external resources for the production of the vaccine products.  Historically, it has not been common practice to outsource mass vaccine production, which is typically kept in-house by multinational pharmaceutical companies. The vaccine CM market is currently only a small fraction of the total vaccine market. Nevertheless, it is expected to grow strongly from 2014 to 2024, driven by the growth of the vaccine market, particularly in the emerging (BRIC nations) economies and the strength of the vaccine pipeline.

New technologies will change the way vaccines are manufactured, with the development of more efficient and cost effective processes. There will be a shift towards the use of cell-based manufacturing technology because of its potential to more easily control production timelines and yields. Recent developments in the use of cell lines include the use of mammalian, avian, insect and plant cell lines. There are already a few pioneering vaccines approved by the FDA that use cell-based technology such as Novartis’ Fluxelvax vaccine. However, traditional egg-based manufacturing will still be the predominant method during the forecast period. The success of these new manufacturing platforms will not only depend on their effectiveness, but also from their approval by government regulatory agencies and the general public.

Amy To, a pharmaceutical and medical devices analyst explains: “The vaccine market has shown greater profitability over the last few years with the emergence of ‘blockbuster’ vaccines such as Wyeth’s Prevnar onto the market. With major commercial opportunities that exist within the sector, the industry is now incentivised to develop new vaccines. More companies have been partnering with vaccine CMOs to outsource the manufacture of their preclinical and clinical stage vaccine material. The advantage of contract manufacturing is lowering the required sum of capital investment, increasing flexibility, focusing on core competencies and gaining access to new technologies.

The product pipeline for the therapeutic vaccine submarket is particularly strong in the coming 10 years and this will boost the vaccine CM market. The therapeutic vaccine submarket offers the exciting prospect of vaccines for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions. The therapeutic vaccine market is really in its infancy, with only one FDA approved therapeutic cancer vaccine; Provenge by Dendreon has been in the US market since 2010. With many small biotechs developing therapeutic vaccines, there is scope for the vaccine CM market to cover their production needs. Agile contract manufacturing services will also be advantageous for influenza vaccine manufacturers given that influenza outbreaks come in irregular cycles where large stocks of vaccines must be manufactured quickly.

There is still apprehension from multinationals to the process of outsourcing the mass production of their vaccines. Companies cite reasons such as the difficulties in transferring technology and wanting to oversee the quality of production from start to end. During the forecast period, it is expected that although there is growing demand for contract manufacturing, the majority of vaccine manufacturing on the mass production scale will be kept in-house.”  

The US and EU5 markets are the leading national vaccine CM markets with the major vaccine manufacturing and research hubs residing in these areas. Additionally, the meticulous nature of vaccine manufacturing causes there to be high barriers of entry into the market.  Despite the challenges, the unprecedented demand for vaccines in the emerging markets will drive the BRIC nations to experience much stronger growth as compared to more established vaccine CM markets, with the highest growth rate forecasted for India and Russia.

The 205 page report provides revenue forecasts to 2024 for the global vaccine contract manufacturing market and leading regional markets. It forecasts sales for 11 leading national markets in the US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, China, India, Russia and Brazil. The report also forecasts sales for the global vaccine submarkets: paediatric, adult prophylactic, influenza and therapeutic vaccines, with discussions of pipeline products for each submarket. The report gives an overview of technologies and development trends in the global vaccine manufacturing industry.  It also includes insightful interviews with industry experts regarding unmet needs and current market trends.