Factors affecting U.S. manufacturers' decisions to produce vaccines.

Recent supply interruptions of childhood vaccines have had negative impacts on U.S. public health policies and vaccine delivery. To understand how manufacturers perceive production incentives and disincentives, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) met with the four pharmaceutical firms that sold vaccines through CDC-negotiated contracts during 2002 and 2003. These meetings shed light on the regulatory burden, high costs of the delay between initial investment and sales, and higher costs of new technologies versus older vaccines. All four manufacturers are investing more in research and development because new technologies have advanced their ability to create vaccines not thought possible before.