Vaccines getting hot

For decades, infectious disease vaccines were viewed as unattractive products with low margins, small markets and liability issues. But fears of global influenza and avian flu pandemics, the SARS outbreak a few years ago and worries about bioterrorism and the spread of diseases like tuberculosis to industrialized countries have sparked what is likely to be more than a passing interest in the field.

At the same time, the risk/reward ratio for vaccines has improved: Successful vaccines become revenue annuities, as entry barriers are high and there is practically no generic competition. Also, prices have become less constrained, and the market has seen its first blockbuster product in Prevnar pneumococcal vaccine from Wyeth (WYE, Madison, N.J.)...