Pfizer & Glaxo Expand Supply Agreements for Pneumonia Vaccines

Pfizer and GSK will supply hundreds of millions of additional doses of pneumonia vaccine to an international partnership for immunization to children in developing countries.

Drug makers Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline have agreed to supply hundreds of millions of additional doses of pneumonia vaccine to an international partnership that provides immunization to children in developing countries.

The drug makers' agreements build on an existing 10-year pact with the Geneva-based GAVI Alliance, which is funded by a handful of developed nations and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In March 2010, Pfizer and Glaxo signed agreements to supply 30 million doses each per year for 10 years, or 300 million over a decade. Under the extension announced last week, the companies will supply an additional 180 million vaccines each through 2023. GAVI and the receiving nations will pay $3.50 per dose for the vaccines, a significant discount from the price in the devel