Sanofi Pasteur’s Gardisil vaccine shows ‘100 per cent prevention’

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi-Aventis, has revealed new uses for its cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil.

Gardisil is designed to vaccinate against various types of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a major factor in causing the onset of cervical cancer. However, the virus can also cause vulval and vaginal cancer.

The results from clinical trials revealed at the American Society for Clinical Oncology demonstrated that Gardasil prevented 100 per cent of pre-cancerous vulval and vaginal lesions caused by HPV types 16 and 18 for at least 18 months after vaccination.

Professor Jorma Paavonen, head of the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University Hospital Helsinki, remarked: “These results are very exciting and encouraging as they indicate a potential additional benefit of this vaccine.”

“Even though vulval and vaginal lesions are less common than cervical lesions their treatment to prevent the potential progression to vulval or vaginal cancer is challenging,” he added.

According to Cancer Research UK, vaginal cancer is “very rare”, with approximately 200 new diagnoses per year, while 1,000 cases of vulval cancer are recorded each year. The research charity estimates that HPV causes three in five cancers of this type.

Sanofi Pasteur is a joint venture between Sanofi-Aventis and Merck. It claims to be the only company in Europe exclusively dedicated to vaccine research and production.

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