MSD’s Gardasil approval welcomed by charity

The European Commission’s decision to grant a licence for Gardasil, the so-called cervical cancer vaccine, has been welcomed by Cancerbackup, the charity that provides information for all types of cancer.

Gardasil, a vaccine for certain types of the human papilloma virus (HPV), was approved for all 25 countries in the European Union for use in female children aged between 9 and 15, as well as adult females aged 16 to 26 years to prevent cervical cancers, high-grade cervical dysplasias and precancers, and external genital warts.

The vaccine will be sold by Sanofi Pasteur MSD, a joint venture between Sanofi Pasteur and Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), which developed the drug.

Debbie Coats, a senior nurse at Cancerbackup, said the charity welcomed the approval of Gardasil as it would help to immunise against a “significant” risk factor in developing cervical cancer.

“Vaccinating against the virus may mean that the majority of cervical cancers could be prevented in the future and we look forward to a national vaccination programme being introduced,” she remarked.

MSD claims that cervical cancer is the second most common cause of death in young women aged 15 to 44, after breast cancer. Cancerbackup reports that around 3,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year.

GlaxoSmithKline has also produced a cervical cancer vaccine, Cervarix, which was submitted for European regulatory approval in March.