SciGen target hep B vaccine market

Biological firm, Scigen Ltd, has invested $30 million in a vaccine manufacturing facility in Israel. The facility will supply SciGen third generation hepatitis B vaccine, Sci B Vac, to its distributors in Europe and Asia Pacific. The vaccine is rapid-acting and highly immunogenic, providing immunity from the first dose. Expansion of the facility is already in late stage planning and is expected to be complete by the end of this year. SciGen has high hopes of large annual sales figures from the third quarter of this year, which it anticipates will be followed by a triple digit growth in 2008. The world market for hepatitis B is currently $1.2 billion, with Europe and Asia Pacific accounting for 40 per cent. The company argue that this figure is set to increase because of the rising awareness of the disease and larger public health expenditure.