FDA Panel Endorses Cervical Cancer Vaccine
WASHINGTON - A vaccine that blocks viruses that cause most cervical cancer is safe and effective and should be approved, a federal panel recommended Thursday. The drug maker said the vaccine could slash global deaths from the No. 2 cancer in women by more than two-thirds
A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee voted 13-0 on five separate times to endorse Merck and Co.'s Gardasil. The anticipated cost of the vaccine, administered in three shots over six months, is $300 to $500 ? a possible impediment to widespread vaccination campaigns.
The drug protects against the two types of human papillomavirus (HPV) believed responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. The vaccine also protects against two other virus types that cause 90 percent of genital wart cases. All four virus types are sexually transmitted.
