| Multiple ailments could see vaccines |
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| Written by Josh Beneventi, Daily Vidette Staff Writer |
| Friday, 04 December 2009 03:43 |
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The pharmaceutical industry is working harder than ever to create multiple vaccines for such ailments as malaria, tuberculosis, genital herpes and AIDS, with hopes of releasing them to the public in as little as five years. Not long ago, many companies had abandoned the vaccine business for more profitable drug distribution, however, advances in technology and an increase in government support have attracted new companies such as Nascent Biotechs and Johnson & Johnson. While medicines help to treat diseases, vaccines aim to prevent infection by enhancing the body’s natural immune system. “In a nutshell, what vaccines do is pretend to be the infection micro-organism that normally causes the disease,” H. Tak Cheung, director and professor for the School of Biological Sciences, said. “The future of vaccine is quite remarkable because not only can it defend many infection diseases, it potentially can also use it to fight cancer as well.” Experts believe the rapid increase of vaccine distribution is strongly related to the H1N1 pandemic, as well as risen concern over preventive health care. Government grants are allowing researchers to develop better, more efficient vaccines. “Without any question, vaccine is the most remarkable medical discovery in human history; and of course we all know the story about the smallpox vaccine that developed from cowpox by Edward Jenner at the turn of the 18th century,” Cheung said. “Smallpox used to be a terrible disease and killed lots and lots of people, and without the smallpox vaccine, we would still be suffering from this terrible disease today.” Currently, vaccines are viewed as crucial to pharmaceutical growth due to the intense competition among prescription medicine companies and government pressure to reduce prices during health care reforms. Experts estimate prescription drug sales to increase by a third in the next five years, while vaccine sales double from $19 billion in 2008 to $39 billion in 2013. “I think the government should focus more on not just the welfare of the population, but also on informing the population of risks and benefits of vaccinations,” Candace Leas, a junior psychology major, said. “In the long run, vaccinations are the better way to go. Medications can be expensive and sometimes you need multiple medications just to treat symptoms of a condition.” According to the analysis, more research has been done on flu vaccines in the last five years than in the previous 20 years. “For a long time, vaccine has had a bit of a challenge,” Cheung said. “Vaccine is usually produced by, in the case of smallpox, cowpox, which is actually a live virus, and some individuals might come down with cowpox severe enough that will cause them significant clinical symptoms.” |
