The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization said June 6 that it had secured commitments from four pharmaceutical companies to lower prices of the vaccines they manufacture.
GAVI said Panacea Biotec had committed to cut down its prices by up to 15 percent, while Serum Institute, which had already reduced its prices to $1.75 per dose, had pledged to continue providing the most competitive pricing for the pentavalent vaccine, which can protect against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenzae type b.
GlaxoSmithKline had also offered to provide its rotavirus vaccine to GAVI at $2.50 per dose, some 67 percent lower than the current lowest available price, while Merck had pledged to offer its rotavirus vaccine to UNICEF at reduced prices, GAVI said.
“These are promising offers that demonstrate industry commitment to work towards affordable and sustainable prices for life-saving vaccines in developing countries. We congratulate all manufacturers who have responded to our call in the lead up to the pledging conference,” GAVI interim head Helen Evans said in a statement.
GAVI is holding a pledging conference in the United Kingdom on June 13, with an eye on raising up to $3.7 billion.
>> GAVI’s 2011 Pledging Conference Set for June 13
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