Merck welcomes clarification of GARDASIL safety

Merck has welcomed the news that the Food and Drugs Administration, along with the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has declared GARDASIL to be a safe and effective treatment for those at risk of carrying the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV).

GARDASIL is a vaccine used in females between the ages of nine and 26 years of age and prevents the onset of vulvar, cervical and vaginal cancers, genital warts caused by HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 and precancerous or dysplastic lesions.

According to Merck, HPV types 16 and 18 are responsible for around 70 per cent of all cervical cancer cases.

Richard M. Haupt, head of the GARDASIL clinical programme, stated: “Now that there is a vaccine, we have an opportunity to not only impact this disease through early detection but also through a medical intervention.”

In other Merck news, the firm won a law suit last week as it was ruled that Teva had committed a patent violation of its SINGULAIR treatment.