GlaxoSmithKline continues to build a convincing case for Cervarix. The pharma giant reports that a new study shows that the cervical cancer vaccine is effective against the five most common viruses that trigger cervical cancer. Up to now researchers had been focused on building a case for the two most common viruses.
By adding three more viruses to Cervarix's hit list, says Glaxo, they can expand the vaccine's efficacy by 11 percent to 16 percent.
"This is really good news for primary prevention of cervical cancer as it indicates the vaccine could offer women additional protection ... beyond what had at first been anticipated," said Thomas Breuer, head of global clinical R&D at GSK Biologicals.
Glaxo has won approvals for Cervarix in 90 countries, but was stymied in the U.S. last summer when GSK opted to augment its data on the vax after responding to the FDA's request for more info on Cervarix. So far that has left the world's largest drug market to Merck, which has wasted no time in grabbing market share for Gardasil.
- read the story from Reuters