Disrupting Dengue with an Emerging Markets Launch Strategy

Sanofi Pasteur’s newly approved dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, was unusual in that it was launched in the Philippines and other at-risk countries. By choosing to “flip the model” – launch in an emerging market setting as opposed to developed markets – it had to overcome various obstacles across the value chain, from registration to financing to supply. The company spent 20 years and invested $1.7 billion to develop Dengvaxia, taking several high-risk decisions and making trade-offs along the way. The case highlights the stakeholder interdependencies and uncertainties that remained as the vaccine implementation programme crept closer. If successfully resolved, it could potentially offer a blueprint for others.

The case explores a new business model for launching a vaccine. It can be used to discuss the stakeholder network involved in vaccine adoption decisions, the opportunities and challenges of launching a vaccine in an emerging market setting, the role of public health decision-making in managing the burden of infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries, and the contributions of the private sector in addressing their healthcare needs.