Vaccines Alliance Nears Deal on Cervical Cancer Shots

The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization said recently in London it is moving toward an agreement with drugmakers that would provide millions of doses of human papillomavirus vaccine in developing nations. HPV infection is the main cause of cervical cancer; if a deal is struck, “up to a million girls and young women could be protected from cervical cancer by 2015 in a handful of countries,” GAVI said.

“The HPV vaccine ... is critical to women and girls in poorer countries because they usually do not have access to screening to detect cervical cancer and treatment available in richer nations,” said GAVI CEO Seth Berkley. Developing nations suffer 85 percent of the world’s annual toll of 275,000 cervical cancer deaths.

The only two approved HPV vaccines are Gardasil (Merck & Co.) and Cervarix (GlaxoSmithKline). “Encouraging progress toward an acceptable price” has been made with “at least one” of the manufacturers, a GAVI spokesperson said. A GSK spokesperson confirmed the firm is in talks with GAVI and “is committed to offering the lowest prices for its vaccines to the poorest countries.”

In what GAVI at the time called “a good starting offer,” Merck last year said it was prepared to sell Gardasil to GAVI-eligible nations at a steeply discounted rate of $15 for the three-shot series.

If acceptable arrangements are reached, more than 20 million women in almost 30 nations could be vaccinated against HPV by the end of the decade, GAVI said.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!