Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
Author: staff

The two HPV vaccines currently licensed for use in the UK were jointly awarded the coveted Prix Galien Medal for Innovation at a ceremony held on Wednesday evening in the Palace of Westminster, House of Commons.

“We are absolutely delighted at the recognition given to the world’s leading HPV vaccine Gardasil® – this award reflects the work of many people, all around the world, involved in making the dream of a cancer vaccine a reality”, said Dr Nicholas Kitchin, Medical Director, accepting the award on behalf of the Sanofi Pasteur MSD team.

“Both companies have developed the technology of HPV vaccines down different paths,” he continued, “we chose a quadrivalent vaccine strategy, targeting a broader range of HPV-related genital disease than cervical cancer alone, with the aim of delivering additional benefits for patients and healthcare systems.”

The joint award for the two HPV vaccines, developed by Sanofi Pasteur MSD and GSK, was presented by Andrew Lansley CBE MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Health. The distinguished panel of seven judges, chaired by Professor Sir Michael Rawlins, selected the HPV vaccines as the winners from seven innovative products that reached the final.

Vaccines have won in four of the last five Prix Galien awards and the UK award for Gardasil® follows similar success in Prix Galien competitions in the USA and France.

Current experience with the four-type HPV vaccine

Thirty years after the discovery that human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical cancer, 15 years after the start of vaccine development and two years after the approval of the four-type (6,11,16,18) HPV vaccine Gardasil®, vaccination to prevent cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases has been widely implemented.

Gardasil® is approved in more than 100 countries around the world. Thirty million doses distributed worldwide demonstrate strong endorsement by medical professionals, regulatory agencies, health authorities and physicians as well as mothers and daughters.

HPV vaccination is recommended in 18 out of the 19 European countries – Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom – in which Sanofi Pasteur MSD markets Gardasil®. The vaccine is funded, or soon to be funded, in 15 of these. It is also recommended and funded in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Indication of Gardasil®

Gardasil® (Human Papillomavirus Vaccine [Types 6, 11, 16, 18] (Recombinant, adsorbed)) is a vaccine for the prevention of premalignant genital lesions (cervical, vulvar and vaginal), cervical cancer and external genital warts (condyloma acuminata) causally related to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16 and 18. The indication is based on the demonstration of efficacy of Gardasil® in adult females 16 to 26 years of age and on the demonstration of immunogenicity of Gardasil in 9- to 15-year old children and adolescents. Protective efficacy has not been evaluated in males. The use of Gardasil® should be in accordance with official recommendations.

About Sanofi Pasteur MSD

Sanofi Pasteur MSD is a joint venture between sanofi pasteur, the vaccine division of sanofi-aventis, and Merck & Co., Inc. Combining innovation and expertise, Sanofi Pasteur MSD is dedicated exclusively to vaccines. Sanofi Pasteur MSD is able to draw on the research expertise of sanofi pasteur and Merck & Co., Inc., together with their teams throughout the world, to focus on the development of new vaccines for Europe, which aim to extend protection to other diseases and perfect existing vaccines in order to improve the acceptability, efficacy and tolerability of vaccination.

Sanofi Pasteur MSD is the only European company dedicated exclusively to vaccines