The Times - UK (2020-09-05)

54 1GM Saturday September 5 2020 | the times

Business

5

Concilia, boss of Seqirus in the UK,

said without the preparations and had

the company “not anticipated” the

government’s demand it could have

led to a shortage. Seqirus is increasing

its supplies to the UK this season by

about 30 per cent to more than 14 mil-

lion doses.

The government’s “unprecedented

drive” is part of a campaign to avoid a

potential second coronavirus wave

colliding with a flu outbreak present-

ing similar symptoms which would

risk overwhelming the NHS and

deepening the economic downturn.

Ministers are offering more than

30 million people a free flu shot, an

increase on the 25 million eligible last

year, by expanding the programme to

cover people aged 50 to 64 after pri-

oritising the most “at-risk” groups.

The rise in demand and increased

public awareness has given the indus-

try “massively challenging” manu-

facturing and logistical issues as

vaccines typically take about seven

months to make. However, it also

promises to deliver bumper revenues.

CSL, whose non-executive direct-

ors include Pascal Soriot, the chief

executive of Astrazeneca, stands

alongside the five big pharma busi-

nesses that account for 80 per cent of

the growing $5 billion global flu vac-

cines market: Sanofi, Merck, Pfizer,

Glaxosmithkline and Janssen.

Revenues are sensitive to vaccina-

tion coverage, which have been stag-

nant in previous years in Europe and

A recovery in demand for new vehi-

cles after the Covid-19 lockdown has

run into a pothole.

New car registrations fell by nearly

6 per cent in August compared with a

year ago, while new van registrations

were down 16 per cent, according to

new figures from the Society of Mo-

tor Manufacturers and Traders.

The drop in sales follows an en-

couraging increase in July and the

SMMT, the industry trade body, said

the figures were “disappointing”.

August is traditionally one of the

slowest trading months of the year

ahead of the registration change in

September and dealers have been

reporting that buyers were hanging

back for this year’s new 70 plates.

The figures are also skewed by the

shifting trends as buyers avoid diesel

engines amid environmental and

Car buyers put brake on recovery

regulatory concerns and electric

vehicles — in short supply and more

expensive — become more popular.

Of the 87,000 cars sold in August,

just one in six were conventional

diesel. Just a few years ago they

accounted for half of all sales.

Registrations of battery-driven

cars, which attract a subsidy, were up

70 per cent at 5,500 and sales of plug-

in hybrids more than trebled to 2,900.

The all-electric Kia e-Niro made

the UK top ten for the first time,

shifting 4,100 units in the month.

Between them these electric cars

accounted for a record near-10 per

cent of the total market. Another 17

per cent was accounted for by sales of

cars with some form of hybridisation.

Robert Lea Industrial Editor

More than 4,000 e-Niros were sold

in August, putting it in the top ten

When Britain went into lockdown in

March, the country’s only injectable

influenza vaccine facility decided to

remain open to stop the Covid-19

crisis deepening this winter.

Seqirus, the biopharmaceutical

company owned by CSL, the Austra-

lian group that produced a vaccine for

Spanish flu a century ago, brought in

24/7 shift patterns, stepped-up

recruitment and introduced social-

distancing measures to protect the

700 workers at its plant in Liverpool,

one of Europe’s largest biotech sites.

The Maidenhead-based company

pre-empted a spike in demand from

the UK government for the flu season

months in advance of ministers placed

orders in June and before Matt Han-

cock, the health secretary, publicly

declared the “biggest flu vaccination

programme in history” in July. Helen

Big pharma gears up for busy flu season

Getting to the point

$5bn global

influenza market

80% accounted

for by the Big Three

Sources: Bernstein, Times research

Covid-19 v seasonal flu mortality rates %

65 years and over

50-64 years

18-49 years

Up to 17 years

All ages

3-4

0.2

7

1.4

2.1

0.14

0.3

0.06

0.1

0.01

Influenza market share by region of

three major players

Europe

507

US

2,700

Rest of world 798

$m

Influenza market share of three major

players

Glaxosmithkline

692

Sanofi

2,117

CSL

1,196

$m

Seasonal influenza vaccination coverage

in older age groups

Scotland

N Ireland

England

Netherlands

Wales

Ireland

Portugal

Spain

Italy

Sweden

2016-17 2017-18*

Vaccination coverage, %

25 50 75 100

*Where data available

EU

target

75%

Covid Flu

Protecting Britons

from the winter killer

could act as a dry run

for a Covid vaccine,

writes Alex Ralph

officials in the northern hemisphere,

which accounts for about 85 per cent

of the market by value, have been

watching the flu season in the south-

ern hemisphere closely. Ms Concilia

of Seqirus said it was “hard to know”

whether social distancing would

reduce influenza, as was observed in

the southern hemisphere.

The prospect of increased flu vacci-

nations and social distancing this

winter limiting infection rates could

lead to a reduction in demand for

over-the-counter medicines for

drugs companies and pharmacies.

Reckitt Benckiser, the FTSE 100

consumer goods group behind

Mucinex and Nurofen, cautioned in

July that a “likely weaker cough/cold

and flu season and headwinds caused

by social distancing” increased uncer-

tainty for its outlook.

Increased flu vaccine sales at Sano-

fi have also been offset by a drop in

travel vaccine demand.

Pharmacists and GPs have been

preparing for the logistical challenge

of administering significantly in-

creased numbers of flu vaccine doses

at a time of social-distancing.

Richard Bradley, the pharmacy

director at Boots UK, said the chain

was increasing its storage space for

vaccines, and considering outside

sites, such as hiring village halls, in

places where shop space is limited.

For the first time, Boots has more

than 5,000 pharmacists and techni-

cians trained to administer more

than one million flu vaccines across

its 2,300 pharmacies in Britain.

“We are working very closely with

the government on how we make

vaccines more accessible to patients

where we need to,” he said.

Well Pharmacy, which has 750 out-

lets and was bought in Bestway’s

£620 million acquisition of the Co-op

pharmacies in 2014, is planning for a

30 per cent increase in demand year-

on-year and is exploring providing flu

clinics out of hours and off site.

Ash Soni, a member of the English

pharmacy board at the Royal Phar-

maceutical Society and a community

pharmacist, said public health guide-

lines were relaxed last month to allow

pharmacists to administer vaccines

offsite without seeking permission

and said the flu season could act as a

“dummy run” for a potential mass

Covid-19 vaccination drive next year.

Mr Fry said of the flu jab season

that having the “closest surrogate we

get to a Covid-19 mass vaccination

plan is a good idea”. He added that the

preparations by industry and govern-

ment for the flu season had been very

reactive and called for a “more pro-

active approach”, to ensure the

manufacturing is in place and there

are no “shortages or panic”.

the US. In the EU no member coun-

try reached the 75 per cent target vac-

cination level for vulnerable groups

by the 2017-18 season, set in 2009 and

targeted for the 2014-15 season. It

shows the level of “unmet need”,

according to analysts at Bernstein.

Bernstein estimates that the

present surge in demand means that

in the US alone, which accounts for

about two thirds of global market

value, a 1 per cent rise in coverage is

worth about $100 million for Sanofi.

The French company, which has a

50 per cent market share, is supplying

an extra 2.6 million flu doses to the

UK, about 38 per cent more than nor-

mal. It is distributing to 9,000 custom-

ers, such as GP surgeries, via the Mov-

ianto distribution centre in Bedford.

Hugo Fry, managing director of

Sanofi in the UK, said it was a “mas-

sive increase” and government or-

ders across the northern hemisphere

meant Sanofi faced twice as much

additional demand as it could supply.

“The government understands the

last thing they want are hospitalisa-

tions from flu simultaneously to a

second wave Covid,” he said.

Industry bosses and public health

2.6m

Extra flu vaccine doses for UK

Sanofi