Analysts forecast strong growth in flu vaccines market

The seasonal influenza vaccine market will grow from $3.1 billion in 2015 to $4.3 billion by 2025 in the seven major markets (7MM) of the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and Japan, according to analysis from a major research and consulting firm.

GlobalData forecasts a compo und annual growth rate of 3.3% in the next decade, driven by changes to the national immunization schedules in the USA and the UK, the expansion of egg-based quadrivalent seasonal influenza vaccines across Germany, Italy, France, and Spain to include younger people, and the transition from egg-based to cell culture-based vaccines, currently progressing well in clinical trials.

Each year, between a quarter and half a million people worldwide are killed by the three variants of the seasonal influenza virus, and between three and five million are affected by severe illness, also leading to absence from work and lost productivity, as well as placing a strain on health services. Although elderly people are at most risk, governments in these major markets are introducing measures to immunise additional age groups in the flu season in response, a fact which GlobalData believes will be a key sales driver for the major players in the market.