29 Nov Company offers low cost vaccine against killer diseases
Good news from GAVI – the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation. The price of the combined vaccine that protects small babies in poor countries against five major killer diseases – diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, Hib and hepatitis B – is coming down. An “emerging market vaccine manufacturer” has offered a new, lower price.
GAVI won’t say which generic drug company it is, but there are at least three that supply this essential “pentavalent” vaccine to Unicef, which buys and distributes it to developing countries with GAVI money. They are Crucell, from Korea, Panacea Biotec, in India and the Serum Institute of India, which has no less than six versions of the vaccine listed on the World Health Organisation site. The fourth listed supplier is Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline.