LONDON (Reuters) – The world’s first cervical cancer vaccine may give wider protection against the killer disease than previously thought, researchers said on Sunday.
New data presented at a medical conference in Prague showed Merck & Co Inc’s Gardasil had the potential to neutralise additional strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes the disease.
HPV types 16 and 18, which are directly targeted by Gardasil, are responsible for 75 percent of all cervical cancer. But scientists found the vaccine also induces an antibody response capable of neutralising strains 31 and 45, which together account for another 8 to 9 percent of cases.
Further clinical trials are needed to show if cross neutralisation translates into the prevention of disease caused by these extra types.
Nonetheless, the advance is a plus for Merck, which is fighting competition from GlaxoSmithKline Plc, whose rival vaccine Cervarix has already shown similar promise to fight a range of cancer-causing HPV types.
Both products are viewed by analysts as likely multibillion-dollar-a-year sellers for preventing cervical cancer, the second-biggest cancer killer in women worldwide.
Gardasil is already approved for sale in the United States and is awaiting approval in Europe, where it will be sold through a joint venture with Sanofi-Aventis SA.
Cervarix is slightly further behind in development.
The latest Gardasil research results were presented at the International Papillomavirus Conference in Prague.
