Search
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The swine flu epidemic provides a huge opportunity for vaccine manufacturers, but many risks as well
Posted: 15/10/2009
THE CHALLENGES of vaccine development go well beyond the mathematics of mass production.
For a relatively mild disease, swine flu, or H1N1, has demonstrated the pharmaceutical industry's limitations when it comes to producing vaccines for the global population.
Until the 1990s, vaccines were not of great interest to large pharmaceutical companies. Most governments had programs to create and produce their own. However, changes in requirements, as well as negative publicity about the side effects of whole-cell vaccination, led to more rarefied, complex and value-added production processes. This meant the pharmaceutical industry could once more enjoy significant profit margins.
© All rights reserved 2011 SynCo Bio Partners
