All data on both vaccines must be considered

doi:10.1136/bmj.a2554

Published 19 November 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a2554
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a2554

Letters

(Not) warts and all

All data on both vaccines must be considered

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The government chose the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccineof GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Cervarix, after considering protectionagainst cancer causing HPV 16 and 18, HPV 6 and 11 (which causegenital warts), and HPV strains not included in the vaccineformulation; price; and supply.¹

Its decision was based on a comprehensive review of publishedand unpublished clinical efficacy and safety data. New datafrom GSK included the demonstration of high protection againstHPV 16 and 18 for over 6.4 years, the longest protection reportedfor any cervical cancer vaccine to date. The study is beingextended for up to 9.5 years in a subset of women.

The UK has awarded a national licence, but in many other Europeancountries licences are awarded regionally. Only once licensedin a country can a vaccine compete in tender applications. Gardasilwas licensed in the European Union a year before Cervarix, andwas, until recently, the . . . [Full text of this article]

Pim Kon, medical director¹

¹ GlaxoSmithKline UK, Uxbridge UB11 1BT

pim.7.kon@gsk.com