Flu Vaccine 2013: New Influenza Vaccines Provide More Protection, More Profits for Drug Companies

Just in time for the start of flu season, big drugmakers are looking to rake in major profits from a new four-in-one influenza vaccine.

Protecting the body against four strains of the flu instead of three, quadrivalent vaccines are the newest way to ward off the flu, reports CBS News.

Up until now, seasonal flu vaccines have only protected against two strains of influenza A, which usually causes more cases and more severe illness, and one of influenza B, which is less common but also circulates in multiple forms. The quadrivalent vaccines, on the other hand, include protection against a second strain of influenza B, which experts expect will prevent the vast majority of type B infections.

However, the extra protection comes at a higher price. French drugmaker Sanofi, whose Sanofi Pasteur unit is the world's biggest supplier of flu vaccines, earned a total of $1.2 billion in 2012, but now expects a premium of some 50 percent or more. This reflects a determination by manufacturers to move up the value chain by developing more innovative and expensive vaccines, reports Reuters.

Contracts struck with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirm a hefty price jump for the new four-strain flu vaccine, with GSK's quadrivalent Fluarix, for example, costing $12.03 per dose compared to $8.08 for the standard version.

Those price premiums may lead to to higher revenues and accelerated growth in a global flu vaccine market that research group Datamonitor Healthcare estimates totals around $3.7 billion a year.

"Over time, more and more shipped vaccine is likely to be switched to quadrivalent, so over a five-year period it could lift revenue growth from the low single digit to the mid-to-high single digit [percentile] range," said Alistair Campbell, an industry analyst at Berenberg Bank.