Strategies for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization in International Vaccine Pricing and Procurement

Gavi is a multilateral public–private organization that has introduced innovative financial mechanisms to secure funding to help low- and low–middle-income countries procure affordable vaccines through pool procurement in the UNICEF market. UNICEF helps create an affordable vaccine market by organizing tenders in which manufacturers commit to supplying vaccines to meet the expected needs of such countries. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is designed to eradicate polio. Gavi supports the eradication efforts of GPEI, which calls for the adoption of at least one dose of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in conjunction with a novel oral polio vaccine (nOPV). To support this goal, the international community relies on IPV-containing vaccines, including a hexavalent vaccine (Hexa). This study addresses the feasibility of supporting the GPEI’s IPV strategy by increasing the supply and adoption of Hexa. We use mathematical programming to examine optimal contract prices and quantities within the global vaccine market captured by a game-theoretic model. We find that new oral polio vaccines will continue to play a critical role in meeting demand for polio vaccines until Hexa production capacity is dramatically increased. We see a feasible avenue for increasing the availability of safer, IPV-containing vaccines in alignment with the GPEI strategy.