GAVI Alliance gets reduced price offers from Pfizer and GSK

The price that the GAVI Alliance, a public/private partnership, pays for lifesaving pneumococcal vaccines for children in the world’s poorest countries is set to be reduced under new agreements between GAVI, UNICEF, The World Bank, and pharma giants GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE).

Under previous agreements both manufacturers offered pneumococcal vaccine at $ 3.50 per dose. From now, Pfizer will provide the vaccine at $3.40 per dose with a further reduction to $3.30 per dose from 2014 onwards. The new prices will apply to all doses to be purchased from Pfizer under current contracts, including those awarded under two previous agreements. In addition, GSK will lower the price GAVI pays for its pneumococcal vaccine to $3.40 per dose for this new contract covering the period 2014-2024.

These price reductions by Pfizer and GSK are the third to be announced by GAVI this year. In April, a manufacturer agreed to provide pentavalent vaccine for $1.19 per dose. In May, a low price of $4.50 per dose was secured for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.