What is the benefit of a commitment for late stage products — surely the R&D has already been done?
In the past, it has taken 10-20 years for new vaccines to be available at prices affordable to low-income countries, as manufacturers gradually scaled up production, selling first to the more lucrative markets in affluent countries. With an advance market commitment, producers can scale up production quickly, and so generate returns to scale and reduce the cost of new vaccines, with confidence. This means that a commitment would ensure more rapid and affordable access to new vaccines. It would accelerate the introduction of long-run, sustainable prices for the vaccine when the commitment is exhausted. This would increase the confidence of developing countries that they can sustainably introduce new vaccines. A commitment for a late stage product would be smaller than the $3bn suggested for an early stage product, and would be negotiated with specific suppliers.
