ABSTRACT
Immunization stands as one of the most important public health accomplishments to date, having curbed many global epidemics of infectious diseases. Yet annual mortality figures from vaccine preventable diseases reach millions, most deaths occurring in the global South. One of the major impediments to achieving the goal of universal immunization is the limited access to affordable medicines in areas of the world where such diseases are endemic. Vaccines are becoming increasingly less profitable to produce when compared with other pharmaceuticals, while production processes remain complex and product liabilities magnify. The neoliberal global economic policies create additional hurdles for both access to medicines and building up of industrial capacity for pharmaceutical production in the global South.
