Financing research and development for new vaccines in developing Asia-Pacific countries

For many infectious diseases with a high burden in the Asia-Pacific region, there are no licensed, highly effective vaccines. In addition, for neglected infectious diseases in the region, the existing vaccines have limitations. One reason behind the lack of vaccines is a financing gap, especially for late-stage trials. We estimate that the annual financing gap for vaccine research and development (R&D) for neglected diseases is approximately $2 billion and the annual gap for vaccine R&D for emerging infectious diseases is approximately $50 million-170 million. In this paper, a variety of possible mechanisms to mobilize financing for vaccine R&D in the region are presented.