Breaking barriers: Evolving role of the private sector in vaccine accessibility
Key contributors: APAC (Catherine Kuah, Sampath Nachiappan); EU (Samantha Reichard, Emmanuel Lo, Jennifer Wong, Emmanuel Colliot)
Vaccines represent one of humanity’s most cost-effective public health interventions, saving millions of lives and preventing countless diseases. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, governments, manufacturers, payers and healthcare providers (HCPs) have increased their focus on preventative medicine that keeps the global population healthy. While countries publicly fund many vaccines through National Immunization Programs (NIPs), vaccines without broad national recommendations can face uptake challenges. This compels manufacturers to explore private access and reimbursement channels in parallel with public funding. As multiple new vaccines — especially ones indicated for adults — come to market, budget and capacity constraints will likely hinder efforts to include them in NIPs. Given this, manufacturers must first launch in the private market to drive early adoption, build key opinion leader (KOL) and HCP experience and generate early evidence to shape policies for future NIP inclusion.
Opportunities driving private market expansion:
1. Vaccine portfolio expansion: Private companies develop vaccines for a broader range of diseases, including those not listed on essential schedules or traditionally categorized as travel or occupational vaccines.
2. Flexibility to expand coverage and access: In the private sector, manufacturers can drive vaccine differentiation and access based on superiority of clinical benefits. They also unlock reduced pricing pressures compared to the public market.
3. Private market growth: With more consumers now covered through private payers or employer-sponsored health insurance plans, private market opportunities are growing. Increased consumer awareness and the rising middle-to-high income population in some regions also contribute to this shift since more people can afford to and want to pay out of pocket.
To achieve successful launches in the private sector, companies must consider the distinct factors that drive the private market in each region and tailor their go-to-market strategies accordingly. Overall, global vaccine manufacturers must consider three key themes to capitalize on this opportunity:
1. Understand “where to play” and when to prioritize private market opportunities: Pharmaceutical companies should dedicate resources to explore and capitalize on private market opportunities. By identifying specific population cohorts and their unmet needs, companies can predict how well they can differentiate or position vaccines among any existing segments.
2. Track the regulatory and policy landscape in key markets: To develop appropriate go-to-market strategies across markets, companies must closely monitor emerging regulations and policies that may restrict existing operations and affect new distribution channels.
3. Engage with diverse stakeholders in the private ecosystem: Impactful engagement of pharmaceutical companies, private payers, insurers, healthcare providers, patient groups and other key influencers is essential to maximize vaccine impact and ensure more equitable and expanded access. Influence of each stakeholder group may vary depending on region and market, so companies must gain a deep understanding of each stakeholder’s priorities and influencers.
Every region or local market possesses distinct market drivers, policies and influential stakeholders that require careful consideration and often demand different approaches for a successful launch. Stay tuned throughout the month of March for region-specific insights from the ZS Vaccines Center of Excellence (COE). Starting with APAC and EU, each feature will provide targeted recommendations for a successful private launch, focused on critical regional nuances.
