An Ounce of Prevention

THERE IS a saying in the industry: When you’ve seen one flu vaccine season, you’ve seen one flu vaccine season. Unpredictable at best, influenza (flu) and its vaccine are forces to be reckoned with. Consider that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more people die each year from influenza and resulting complications than from all vaccine-preventable diseases combined. Another little-known fact is that influenza and pneumonia combined are the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S. The influenza vaccine also is the only vaccine that requires a new inoculation each year because the vaccine is reformulated annually to protect against the three virus strains that are expected to be most prevalent. Yet, despite these facts, more myths surround the flu and its vaccine than almost any other common disease today.

As I write this, I cannot help but reflect upon where we were last year at this time. We were launching our inaugural publication of BioSupply Trends Quarterly just as news of a new pandemic influenza strain dominated the media and shifted the focus of manufacturers, government agencies and healthcare providers overnight. We were unaware when we chose vaccines as our first issue’s theme how topical it would be, and now one year later, we take a look at lessons learned from H1N1.

One of the positive impacts of last year’s pandemic was certainly the media attention that raised public awareness and understanding of this deadly disease. That our actual flu season was much milder than usual may allow apathy to creep back in, but our hope is that we can leverage this increased awareness to boost vaccination rates. Those on the front lines are best suited to keep this awareness high and help turn the tide on vaccine resistance.

With the debate over healthcare reform also dominating the media, and the recent measure being passed into law, prevention also is a topic high on everyone’s agenda. Not unlike many of today’s innovations that we take for granted, such as the Internet, antibiotics and the iPhone, vaccines are perhaps one of the greatest man-made discoveries of the 20th century. Imagine living in the days when polio or measles were common diseases with no known cure. Yet there is still an antivaccine movement to be reckoned with. I was pleased to see that our April feature, Counteracting the Anti-Vaccine Movement: Promoting an Ounce of Prevention, received many requests for reprints from healthcare professionals who valued it as a communication tool for their patients. With nine new measles outbreaks being reported so far in 2010 (as many as during all of 2009), it is imperative that we deal with any apathy or misinformation regarding the safety and efficacy of vaccines that have all but eradicated once-deadly diseases.

In this issue, we look at therapeutic vaccines. While not all diseases are vaccine-preventable, these new vaccines to treat pre-existing conditions, such as HIV, cancer, multiple sclerosis, shingles, Alzheimer’s and others, have the potential to radically change medical treatment. This may seem futuristic, but there are actually three vaccines that have already gained regulatory approval in the U.S.: one for multiple sclerosis, one for shingles and, most recently, one for prostate cancer. Others are showing very promising results at various stages of clinical trials.

As Vas Narasimhan of Novartis Vaccines states so eloquently in his leadership profile, “Vaccines are the most transformative public health development of the past hundred years.” We are fortunate to be on this critical, innovative path to prevention. As always, we hope you find this issue educational and valuable to you and your colleagues.

Patrick M. Schmidt

Publisher