The Influenza Vaccines Market is Forecast to Show Moderate Growth Until 2018

Monday 17 October 2011, Amsterdam

This new study estimates that the global influenza vaccines market was valued at $3,525.1m in 2011, and is forecast to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.8% over the next seven years, to reach $5,242.9m in 2018. The moderate growth of the market is due to the increasing awareness among people about the importance of vaccination against influenza, and the approval of new influenza vaccines. The universal immunization recommendation by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and several government awareness vaccination programs would help to increase the vaccination coverage for influenza. The upcoming influenza vaccines include seasonal vaccines such as FluBlok and MEDI-3250, pandemic and pre-pandemic (mainly H5N1) vaccines such as Flu (Pre) Pandemic Vaccine, H5N1 pandemic influenza vaccine and Vepacel, and universal influenza vaccines such as BVX-M001, MVA-NP+M1, Flu-v and others. The influenza vaccines market is also set to witness the launch of quadrivalent vaccines such as Fluzone QIV, and adjuvant vaccines such as JVRS-100 with Fluzone and IC31 Seasonal Influenza Vaccine. The pipeline also includes vaccines with different routes of administration, such as oral vaccine (Avian Influenza (H5N1) Oral Vaccine), nasal vaccine (Influenza Intranasal Vaccine), vaccine in the form of nasal dry powder (GelVac), and vaccine patch (Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Patch).


Strong Competition in the Seasonal Influenza Vaccines Market

The current influenza vaccines market is primarily served by the trivalent seasonal influenza vaccines. These available vaccines are either inactivated, such as Fluarix, FluLaval, Fluvirin and Fluzone, or live attenuated such as Flumist. These vaccines are efficacious in providing immunization against virus A subtypes, H1N1, H3N2, and type B strains. They are rarely found to be associated with adverse events. Although these low priced seasonal trivalent influenza vaccines offer strong competition in the market, there is still scope for new entrants which would offer immunization against multiple influenza virus strains.


Significant Unmet Need in the Influenza Vaccines Market Leaves Scope for the Entry of a Novel Vaccine

The available trivalent, seasonal influenza vaccines are efficacious enough to provide immunization against the H1N1, H3N2 and type B strains of influenza. However, there is a significant unmet need (28%) in the influenza vaccines market for universal immunization. Also, the annual variability of virus strains and shorter shelf life of the vaccines lead to the requirement of yearly vaccination. Along with this, the egg-based vaccines may cause allergies in some people and take a long time for production, leading to shortages when the demand is high. A vaccine which offers protection against multiple virus strains will help to address the unmet need of the market. Also, technological advancement in the production of vaccines would reduce the side effects caused by egg-based influenza vaccines, and would help to avoid situations of vaccine shortage.


Strong Pipeline of Influenza Vaccines Leading to First-to-Market Strategy

The pipeline for influenza vaccines is strong in terms of the number of trials being conducted for the infection. The pipeline consists of 104 vaccines, with five trials for regulatory filing and seven trials under Phase III. Some of the vaccines which are launched either in the US or Europe are in the late stage development of the pipeline. The upcoming vaccines in the pipeline include universal vaccines which would offer immunization against multiple influenza virus strains. Also, there are ongoing trials for vaccines which have an altered route of administration, such as oral vaccines, nasal vaccines, and vaccine patches. These vaccines may further increase the compliance level for vaccinations. Along with this, the technological advancement from egg-based vaccines to cell-cultured vaccines would further help to overcome the shortage of influenza vaccines and reduce the side effects caused by egg-based vaccines. Other new entrants such as recombinant vaccines, deoxyribo nucleic acid (DNA) vaccines and Virus Like Particle (VLP) vaccines would further broaden the spectrum of influenza vaccines. These upcoming vaccines, when priced at a competitive cost, would offer a strong competition to the existing influenza vaccines. Thus, several vaccines in the current influenza vaccines pipeline would lead to a first-to-market strategy for the pharmaceutical companies, so as to capture the influenza vaccines market.  


Future Landscape of the Influenza Vaccines Market

The existing market of influenza vaccines is competitive because of the current efficacious vaccines. With several ongoing trials for influenza vaccines, the market would witness a price war, further leading to a first-to-market strategy for the pharmaceutical companies in order to capture significant market share. GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Protein Sciences Corporation and Baxter Healthcare Corporation are going to be the key players in future. Universal vaccines, recombinant vaccines, DNA vaccines, VLP vaccines and cell-cultured vaccines are the upcoming vaccines that may have a significant impact on the influenza vaccines market in the coming years.


About this new market study:
This report is an essential source of information and analysis on the global influenza vaccines market. The report identifies the key trends shaping and driving the global influenza vaccines market. The report also provides insights on the prevalent competitive landscape and the emerging players expected to significantly alter the market positioning of the current market leaders. Most importantly, the report provides valuable insights on the pipeline products within the global influenza vaccines sector.