Vaccine manufacturer defends pricing policy

I am writing in response to an article in your October issue of AAP News titled "FDA halts approval of vaccine testing requirements." Despite providing your readers with a good overview of the recent change by FDA regarding oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) testing and manufacturing, the article did contain several misconceptions about the vaccine market. We believe these need to be clarified because of their critical importance to practicing pediatricians. Contrary to popular belief, an increase in the number of suppliers for oral polio vaccines may not likely produce price decreases, but could even result in price increases.