Smaller Companies to Gain Traction in Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Market

The market for seasonal influenza vaccines, which has traditionally been dominated by Big Pharma, will soon see smaller companies, according to a report from GlobalData.

Companies such as Protein Sciences Corporation and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma are entering and increasing their presence across the competitive landscape, states the report. Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline,  AstraZeneca/MedImmune, Novartis, and CSL Limited/Sequris have provided the majority of commercially available vaccines over the last decade, whereas smaller companies, such as Mylan, have so far been unable to acquire a significant market share across the seven major pharmaceutical markets (7MM), the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and Japan.

Christopher J. Pace, Ph.D., GlobalData’s Director of Infectious Diseases, explained: “2015 brought about changes in the influenza vaccines space, as Novartis fully retreated from the market by selling its vaccine portfolio to CSL Limited, leaving only four established companies to compete for the majority of market share in the 7MM."

Pace added: “During the forecast period, GlobalData believes that smaller current players such as Protein Sciences Corporation and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, and new entrants such as Novavax, will expand the use of cell culture-based manufacturing methods in order to increase their presence in the seasonal influenza vaccines market.

“Quadrivalent cell culture-based seasonal influenza vaccines are likely to capture at least 25% of market share in the 7MM by 2025, although it is unlikely that Sanofi, CSL Limited/Seqirus, and GSK will lose their market leadership.”