Last December, as the flu season approached, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals' influenza vaccine plant in rural Lancaster County, Pa., stood abandoned. The site had produced vaccines since 1882, but after suffering four money-losing years, Wyeth pulled out of the flu business in 2003. Contrast that with this year: The plant has a new owner, rival drug maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which along with other large pharmaceutical firms is increasing its stake in vaccines. By 2010, the British drug maker expects to open a new cutting-edge vaccine plant in Marietta, Pa., using tissue-based technology.
Until recently, liability problems, manufacturing difficulties, and low reimbursement rates had combined to drive dozens of vaccine-makers in the United States and Europe out of the business. In 1967, there were 26 vaccine manufacturers in the US market, but by 2002 there were only 12, according to a study in Health Affairs.1 "Twenty or 25 years ago, there were multiple ...
