NEW YORK (June 29, 2021)--In a new paper published in the journal Vaccine: X , public health experts from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, the University of Oslo, and Spark Street Advisors highlight actions to accelerate access to vaccines globally. The paper reviews the vaccine research and development process and proposes areas where reforms could increase access, speed time to market and decrease costs--from R&D to manufacturing and regulation to the management of incentives like patents and public funding.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of vaccines as public health and pandemic preparedness tools and amplified the importance of issues ranging from equitable distribution to reliable supply of quality, affordable vaccines. Delays in time from the first dose in a high-income country to introduction at scale in a low-income country can take years. These delays are driven by several challenges, some of which are unique to the vaccine development ecosystem. The authors write that the patenting and overall intellectual property (IP) protection are complex, regulatory oversight is rigorous, manufacturing processes require technical support or know-how transfer from the innovator, and market dynamics create obstacles to delivering at scale. To address these challenges, the authors propose several opportunities to accelerate the availability of vaccines in low and middle-income countries:
"The COVID-19 outbreak and steps that have been taken to speed time to market could act as a catalyst for other vaccines," says senior author Nina Schwalbe, MPH, adjunct assistant professor of Population and Family Health. "While still very much a work in progress, the advancements demonstrated through the R&D of COVID-19 vaccines, give promise that many of the challenges to efficient and equitable vaccine development can be successfully addressed with adequate financing and political will."
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Co-authors include Ole Kristian Aars, Spark Street Advisors and University of Oslo; and Michael Clar, Spark Street Advisors. The research was supported in part with funding from the Medicines Patent Pool.
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Founded in 1922, the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health pursues an agenda of research, education, and service to address the critical and complex public health issues affecting New Yorkers, the nation and the world. The Columbia Mailman School is the seventh largest recipient of NIH grants among schools of public health. Its nearly 300 multi-disciplinary faculty members work in more than 100 countries around the world, addressing such issues as preventing infectious and chronic diseases, environmental health, maternal and child health, health policy, climate change and health, and public health preparedness. It is a leader in public health education with more than 1,300 graduate students from 55 nations pursuing a variety of master's and doctoral degree programs. The Columbia Mailman School is also home to numerous world-renowned research centers, including ICAP and the Center for Infection and Immunity. For more information, please visit http://www.mailman.columbia.edu .
Vaccine X