This past year marks a real watershed for the global vaccine industry. Hit with the first pandemic in more than 40 years, the big manufacturers worked around the clock to develop a new vaccine for swine flu. Their work underscored not only the rapid advances the industry has made as Big Pharma invested heavily to take advantage of a booming business, but also the need for revolutionary new development and manufacturing processes now in the pipeline. Next year we'll be paying close attention to new developments in vaccines as we track the key players in a business destined for fast growth. In the meantime, though, the holidays are in full swing and we're taking a break. FierceVaccines will return for our first issue of the new decade on January 7. - John Carroll