Sanofi Pasteur vaccine scoops award

Sanofi Pasteur’s vaccine to help prevent cervical cancer, genital warts and cervical, vulvar and vaginal pre-cancer has been awarded the International Galien Prize for Pharmaceutical Research.

Gardasil, the four-type human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine’s success follows on from other Galien prizes in the UK, Belgium, France, Switzerland, the US and Holland between 2006 and 2008.

The development of the drug started in the early 1990s, before receiving its first approval in 2006.

Since then, it has been accepted in 107 countries and widely implemented with 36 million doses distributed worldwide, accounting for a 90 per cent global market share.

Didier Hoch, president of Sanofi Pasteur said: “Only 30 years after the discovery that HPV can cause cervical cancer and many other diseases we hold today a vaccine in our hands that can save lives and prevent the suffering of thousands and millions of women.”

The Galien Prize was created in 1970 by the French pharmacist Roland Mehl, in an attempt to promote significant advances in pharmaceutical research. The award is decided by a jury of clinicians, toxicologists, pharmacologists and pharmacists.

Sanofi Pasteur is the only company in Europe dedicated exclusively to vaccines and was founded in 1994.