Merck To Donate Three Million Doses Of HPV Vaccine Gardasil To Developing Countries

HPV Vaccine Gardasil

Merck on Wednesday at the third annual Clinton Global Initiativeconference in New York City announced that it will donate at leastthree million doses of its human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil todeveloping countries, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Stark, Philadelphia Inquirer,9/27). Gardasil in clinical trials has been shown to be 100% effectivein preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which togethercause about 70% of cervical cancer cases, and about 99% effective inpreventing HPV strains 6 and 11, which together with HPV strains 16 and18 cause about 90% of genital wart cases among women not alreadyinfected with these strains (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/20).

About500,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer annually, and about80% of the cases and deaths are among women in developing countriesbecause of limited screening and treatment (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report,7/11). Merck said it plans to partner with a nongovernmentalorganization to establish a program to distribute the vaccine over thenext five years, the AP/Google.com reports. Merck said the donation will enable one million women to be vaccinated.

Merck"is fully committed to making Gardasil available to those who need it,"Margaret McGlynn, head of Merck Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, saidin a statement (Johnson, AP/Google.com, 9/26). She added that Merck"will continue to work with [its] partners in the internationalcommunity to develop sustainable solutions to bring Gardasil and othervaccines to the developing world" (Merck release, 9/26). Merck executives estimated the value of the donation at $375.5 million, based on U.S. prices for the vaccine (Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/27).

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