Tim Wilsdon and Ryan Lawlor, Life Sciences Practice, CRA, examine how price-based models for vaccines are affecting coverage across the globe.
Vaccine
The focus on the role of vaccines in addressing global health challenges has intensified in recent months in light of the spread of coronavirus. Vaccines have been shown to play a central role in the prevention and spread of many serious infectious diseases. In Europe, an estimated nine in 10 children receive basic vaccinations.1 Europe has also seen significant economic benefit due to vaccination programs. The EU receives 71% of global vaccine R&D investment, produces 80% of the world’s vaccine doses, and is home to 45% of all vaccine manufacturers.2 But despite the many advantages immunisation programmes have been shown to offer, vaccination rates in Europe have been declining in recent years, resulting in a significant increase in the incidence of many infectious diseases.
A recent analysis led by the Life Sciences Practice at the global consulting firm CRA finds that procurement (or purchasing) methods, specifically price-based models, could play a part in the decline in vaccine coverage rates (VCRs) in the EU. The CRA team interviewed a range of stakeholders in the life sciences sector including payers, government officials, academics, and public health specialists and reviewed available literature to gain better insights into the vaccine procurement methods used in different European markets. The team focused on the approaches to procurement for measles, influenza, and hexavalent vaccines in Germany, Italy, Spain, and Romania.