Business plan:
Africa is a continent which intrinsically suffers from severe food and health care shortages with the result that millions are in danger of succumbing to famine and disease every year. This plan is to purchase a large number of vaccines from developed countries at a knockdown price thus enabling Africans to get access to high quality vaccines at a fraction of the price which they would have to pay for them if they had to purchase them directly.
The manufacturer chosen:
After conducting several interviews with a number of manufacturers it was decided to go for the manufacturer in Estonia who is capable of producing 10 million vaccines in a year and which is ready to start production immediately. The other options were a no go for the following reasons:
The first firm considered is touted to be able to manufacture 8 million vaccines a year but this is going to stop production in a year so it is practically useless. Another firm ill manufacture 5 million vaccines a year but the sale price is USD 1.20 a year which is prohibitive. The other company proposes 4 million vaccines a year at USD 60 cents a vaccine but they need a 12 month period to start production which is quite prohibitive. It is clear that neither of these options is viable due to the fact that a total of 38 million vaccines are required over the next three years in the African continent and neither of the firms in question even comes close to what is required.
The calculations made by my team indicate that this total of 38 million vaccines is correct within a variation of +/- 10 per cent. There were other options which were considered such as the purchasing of vaccines from developed nations but this could only provide around 2 million vaccines immediately at a purchase price of USD 20 each which is definitely prohibitively expensive and way over budgetary requirements. The option of splitting doses was also considered but this was seen as undermining the effects of the vaccine which is definitely not something which was required and desirable in any case.
The only problem with the Estonian manufacturer is that this is not authorised by the World Health Organization and thus it is unlikely that the vaccines would eventually be sent to Africa. However if appropriate pressure on WHO should be made then the Estonian company might receive certification accordingly and all barriers would be broken with the vaccines making it to Africa and saving thousands of lives.
I would definitely go for the Estonian option for a number of reasons. First of all the quality seems to be excellent and the price is extremely cheap – 40c per vaccine when other companies are charging up to USD 75c per vaccine with the other option being the excess vaccines from Europe priced at the ridiculous level of USD 20 per vaccine which is definitely out of bounds for any company wishing to make such a purchase for the African continent. The issue of WHO is instructive and could be a sticking point but at the end of the day a choice has to be made and the Estonian option is the more viable one.
References:
Van Sant JE (2008). "The Vaccinators: Smallpox, Medical Knowledge, and the 'Opening' of Japan". J Hist Med Allied Sci63 (2): 276–9. doi:10.1093/jhmas/jrn014.
