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April 12, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Tool Computes Optimal Price for Combination Vaccines"

UniSci Online (www.unisci.com) (04/11/02)

Sheldon H. Jacobson, a professor of mechanical and industrial engineering in the University of Illinois College of Engineering, has developed a mathematically based analysis tool to help identify acceptable pricing for combination vaccines.  Jacobson's analysis tool, which was described in the latest issue of Health Care Management,  incorporates an integer programming model and a Monte Carlo simulation model, which enables researchers to examine the various relationships of vaccine costs and other factors that might have an impact on costs, such as societal and individual benefits.  The analysis tool then develops an optimum price for a combination vaccine that falls within the ballpark figure of a drug company's targeted market share.  Many parents stagger the number of vaccinations their children receive, but in many cases they do not follow through and get all the shots. Such non-compliance can cause the resurgence of numerous diseases.  In 1998, Jacobsen published his findings from a pilot study he conducted, in which he weighed the economic value of combining vaccines in order to reduce the number of clinical visits or injections.  Since then, Jacobsen has increased the model's capabilities to examine a large number of different factors that can affect the level of vaccinations in a community.

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