"No Regrets" Purchasing in a pandemic: making the most of advance purchase agreements.

"No regrets" buying - using Advance Purchase Agreements (APAs) - has characterized the response to recent pandemics such as Avian flu, Zika Virus, and now COVID-19. APAs are used to reduce demand uncertainty for product developers and manufacturers; to hedge against R&D and manufacturing risks; and to secure availability of products in the face of spiking demand. Evidence on the use of APAs to buy vaccines, medicines, diagnostics, and personal protective equipment during recent pandemics illustrates how these contracts can achieve their intended objectives for buyers.

Shaping markets to benefit global health - A 15-year history and lessons learned from the pentavalent vaccine market.

Market shaping for health products used in lower-income countries strives to benefit public health. As a funder of vaccines, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) has goals for its market shaping efforts, achieved through a strategy developed and implemented by the Gavi Secretariat, UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). A case-study of Gavi's fifteen-year engagement with a vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and type b (pentavalent) provides evidence of the benefits and potential risks of trying to influence markets.

Charting the evolution of approaches employed by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) to address inequities in access to immunization: a systematic qualitative review of GAVI policies, strategies and resource allocation mechanisms through an equity lens (1999-2014).

Background: GAVI's focus on reducing inequities in access to vaccines, immunization, and GAVI funds, - both between and within countries - has changed over time. This paper charts that evolution.

Methods: A systematic qualitative review was conducted by searching PubMed, Google Scholar and direct review of available GAVI Board papers, policies, and program guidelines.

Updating the evidence base on the operational costs of supplementary immunization activities for current and future accelerated disease control, elimination and eradication efforts.

Background: To achieve globally or regionally defined accelerated disease control, elimination and eradication (ADC/E/E) goals against vaccine-preventable diseases requires complementing national routine immunization programs with intensive, time-limited, and targeted Supplementary Immunization Activities (SIAs). Many global and country-level SIA costing efforts have historically relied on what are now outdated benchmark figures. Mobilizing adequate resources for successful implementation of SIAs requires updated estimates of non-vaccine costs per target population.

Projections of costs, financing, and additional resource requirements for low- and lower middle-income country immunization programs over the decade, 2011-2020.

The Decade of Vaccines Global Vaccine Action Plan has outlined a set of ambitious goals to broaden the impact and reach of immunization across the globe. A projections exercise has been undertaken to assess the costs, financing availability, and additional resource requirements to achieve these goals through the delivery of vaccines against 19 diseases across 94 low- and middle-income countries for the period 2011-2020. The exercise draws upon data from existing published and unpublished global forecasts, country immunization plans, and costing studies.

Demand forecasting for preventive AIDS vaccines: economic and policy dimensions.

Background: An AIDS vaccine could play a very significant role in reversing the HIV pandemic, saving millions of lives. For a vaccine to have such an impact, it must be widely available and adopted and taken up rapidly in the countries most affected. A demand-forecasting model provides a valuable tool that can guide R&D spending decisions and identify policy actions to help achieve these goals.

Frequency of hospitalisations and inpatient care costs of manic episodes: in patients with bipolar I disorder in France.

Background: Bipolar disorder is a chronic illness that may involve multiple relapses and result in substantial psychosocial impairment. However, very few recent studies have investigated the economic burden of the disease.

Objective: To assess the frequency of hospitalisation and the inpatient care costs associated with manic episodes in patients with bipolar I disorder in France.

Costs of bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a chronic affective disorder that causes significant economic burden to patients, families and society. It has a lifetime prevalence of approximately 1.3%.