Healthy Skepticism Library item: 13716

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Mathew JL.
Global access to vaccines: Vaccine science and commerce: never the twain shall meet?
BMJ 2008 May 3; 336:(7651):974
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/336/7651/974-b

Abstract:

Chokshi and Kesselheim suggest some reasons why effective vaccines are unavailable in poorer countries.1 The main reason is that most wealthy countries demand a solution (vaccine) for infectious diseases of public health importance, while poorer countries do not-and should they do so, they are largely ignored. This explains the scant attention paid to important issues such as improving measles and tuberculosis vaccines and the strong focus on new vaccines irrespective of their desirability and feasibility in developing countries. What is worse is that many manufacturers have realised the potential of marketing in developing countries (large population and variable spending power) and are ruthlessly exploiting the weak decision making systems there to aggressively promote products that are often not required.

Chokshi and Kesselheim state that “difficulty in disseminating well established vaccines casts doubts on our ability to promote widespread use of new ones,“1 but the opposite is being witnessed in most . . .

Keywords:
Publication Types: Comment Letter MeSH Terms: Commerce Developing Countries* Drug Industry* Humans Interprofessional Relations Vaccines/supply & distribution* Substances: Vaccines

Notes:

Comment on:
BMJ. 2008 Apr 5;336(7647):750-3.