GSK wins UK cancer vaccine contract
pharmafile | June 19, 2008 | News story | Sales and Marketing |
The government has picked GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix as the sole vaccine for its forthcoming national cervical cancer immunisation programme.
Cervarix has won the contract in a two-horse race with Sanofi-Pasteur MSD's rival product Gardasil.
The decision has aroused controversy because campaigners say it ignores the wider protection offered by Gardasil.
Cervarix and Gardasil are the only vaccines available to guard against the human papillomavirus (HPV), and their manufacturers had to go through a competitive tendering exercise for the contact.
The Department of Health said its decision to pick Cervarix was based on "a wide range of criteria such as their scientific qualities and cost effectiveness".
In a DH tendering process, the two companies placed secret bids offering a price at which they would be able to vaccinate the population. The price offered by GSK was "commercially confidential", the DH said, but the government was clear from outset of the procurement process last year about its desire to drive down costs.
Sanofi Pasteur MSD said it regretted the decision not to use Gardasil, which has been chosen – either preferentially or exclusively – by a number of countries for their national vaccination campaigns, including France and Australia.
The company's VP for medical and scientific affairs Patrick Poirot added: "With strong global endorsement from regulators, health authorities and physicians and with a very favourable cost-benefit profile, Gardasil will continue to be the HPV vaccine of choice for girls and women worldwide."
'Saving pennies, losing pounds'
Gardasil not only protects against the two strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) responsible for the majority of cervical cancers, but also offers protection against genital warts, which are also caused by HPV.
Since Cervarix does not offer this additional protection against genital warts, the decision to pick the drug was criticised by campaigners as a 'missed opportunity' to protect a generation of young women against the sexually transmitted disease.
Lisa Power, head of policy at the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "While we welcome any advance at all, we are very disappointed at the short-sightedness of this decision.
"By failing to choose the vaccine with the widest coverage, the Department of Health is condemning Britons to a further increase in genital warts and other cancers which could have been prevented. They are saving pennies to spend pounds later."
This message was echoed by the Family Planning Association's chief executive Julie Bentley, who said selecting Gardasil "would've been a huge preventative measure in terms of health and financial costs to the NHS".
September campaign
Instead, GSK's Cervarix will now be used when the routine vaccination of girls aged 12-13 years against HPV begins in September, and then also in the two-year catch up campaign for girls up to 18 years due to start in Autumn 2009.
The routine programme could cost the government up to £100 million a year, and the catch up programme a further £200 million per cycle.
President of Pharmaceuticals Europe for GSK Eddie Gray said: "This is great news for girls and women across the UK and reflects the growing confidence in Cervarix, which provides cervical cancer protection with a strong and sustained immune response.
"We are delighted to be working with the UK Department of Health to help reduce the burden of cervical cancer and believe the benefits of this programme will be felt by women and their families for generations to come."
Cervarix guards against two strains of the HPV virus that cause 70% of cases of cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer in women worldwide.
Health minister Dawn Primarolo said: "This vaccine could save the lives of 400 women a year. It is a an exciting opportunity to immunise young girls against the future risk of cancer, the impact of which will be felt by women and their families for generations to come.
"With GSK committed to produce the vaccine for the NHS, we will be working closely with the local NHS to ensure the success of this ambitious programme."
