Aligning products with country needs

Planning for the unique challenges of implementing vaccines in developing countries

Until recently, the primary marketplace for new vaccines has been the developed world, with uptake in developing countries occurring many years later.  Efforts by the GAVI Alliance and others now promote the use of new vaccines in developing countries relatively soon after they have been adopted by the developed world.

In resource-poor settings, it is important to align the basic physical characteristics of vaccines with a country’s vaccine management needs—available cold-chain capacity, health worker knowledge and skills, and the economic constraints of the target market.

Pharmaceutical companies and their public-sector partners therefore work to tailor the administration, formulation, presentation, and packaging of new vaccines to accommodate, among other things, the perceived needs of the primary marketplace. The outcome of this decision-making process is a target product profile (TPP).

MVI and its public- and private-sector partners will employ this systematic method for choosing the most appropriate combinations of formulation, presentation, and packaging for vaccine candidates at the appropriate time.

Agreeing on a TPP—one that is appropriate for resource-poor country settings—will help to avoid some of the pitfalls encountered in attempts to integrate a new vaccine into a developing country.