Cervical cancer vaccine receives EU approval

Published: 25-Sep-2006
Regulatory

A vaccine which protects against the sexually transmitted infections that cause most cases of cervical cancers has received approval for use in the EU.


A vaccine which protects against the sexually transmitted infections that cause most cases of cervical cancers has received approval for use in the EU.

Gardasil, developed by Sanofi Pasteur and Merck & Co, protects against certain strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV), and is marketed in the US by Merck. Cervical cancer caused by the virus kills an estimated 230,000 people a year worldwide.

'The advent of a vaccine against HPV is a very exciting development in cancer prevention,' said Cancer Research UK's chief executive professor Alex Markham.

'One in ten female cancers diagnosed worldwide are cancers of the cervix and it is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in Southern Africa, Central America and Asia.

'The current vaccines do not prevent all cancer-related HPV strains. But studies have shown that they are up to 100 per cent effective against the targeted HPV strains (strains 16 and 18), and as a result they have the potential to prevent around 70 per cent of cervical cancers,' Markham added.

Gardasil is already licensed in Australia, Mexico and the US, where the three-dose, six-month course costs approximately US$195.

A rival product called Cervarix, made by GlaxoSmithKline, is thought to be heading for European approval in early 2007.

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