Britain picks Glaxo cervical cancer vaccine

Britain’s Department of Health has picked GlaxoSmithKline’s cervical cancer vaccine Cervarix over Merck’s Gardasil for its immunisation programme, Glaxo said on Wednesday.

The programme aims to protect against the two types of human papilloma virus responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancers and starts in September for girls aged 12 to 13, the company said.

The company did not disclose financial details of the deal but about 300,000 girls per year could receive the drug, which requires three doses. The list price for a single dose is 80 pounds ($155.9).

Cervarix, marketed in Europe but still waiting approval in the United States, is viewed as a key product for Glaxo, with multi-billion dollar per year sales potential. It competes with Gardasil, which is marketed in Europe via a 50:50 joint venture company with Sanofi-Aventis SA.

The decision not to include Gardasil means British girls will not have access to a drug Sanofi said has a 95 percent market share, Sanofi said in a statement.

“Gardasil is, or will be, used exclusively for campaigns in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Switzerland,” the company said.

Both vaccines are designed to be given to girls and young women to protect them against cancer-causing strains of HPV virus.

Earlier this year the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said in a report that both vaccines could best help reduce cervical cancer when used with screening programmes.

Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus and it is the second most common type of cancer in women. The disease kills 300,000 each year, mostly in developing countries.

Five EU countries—Britain, France, Germany, Austria, and Italy—have introduced the vaccination into their national health programmes and most are considering it, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

LONDON (Reuters)