Addressing the Challenges of Implementing Delivery of Future C. diff Vaccine

Richard Haupt, MD, MPH, vice president of Medical Development at Pfizer Vaccines, discusses what would be required to adequately implement the delivery of a future C. diff vaccine.

Interview Transcript (modified slightly for readability):

“The complexities of [implementing the delivery of] the [C. diff] vaccine are really substantial. It’s hard enough [getting] the investment, the resources, and the time, and the complexities of doing a clinical developmental plan to actually demonstrate that a vaccine is safe and effective, but once we know that’s true, and we submit the data to regulatory agencies, we hopefully will get a license, but then the vaccine has to actually be given to people, which is the most important thing. Because in order for the vaccine to maximize its public health value, we want to ensure that we address the challenges of being able to deliver the vaccine.

And there will be challenges; it’s a three-dose vaccine; the vaccine will be directed toward adult populations. It’s always been more of a challenge to vaccinate adults as opposed to infants and children. And there will be challenges around payments and reimbursement and things like that, and so, we’re already thinking about all of those things now, well in advance of whether or not we know if we have a vaccine that works. We want to understand what the issues are so that we can try to ensure that if the vaccine is successful, and when it’s available, that we have the opportunity to deliver it to the people who need it the most.”