'Wrong' HPV vacc selected in UK

UK-headquartered drug giant GlaxoSmithKline's human papilllomavirus vaccine, Cervarix, was the wrong choice for a national immunization campaign, according to an article in the British Medical Journal by Phil Hammond, a general practitioner who is known for his appearances on numerous television shows. Dr Hammond claimed that he, and other physicians he has spoken to, would prefer to have their children vaccinated with US drug major Merck & Co's Gardasil, which is marketed in the UK by Sanofi Pasteur MSD.

The decision to award a L100.0-million (at the time $199.1 million) contract to immunize all school girls aged 11 and 12 years in the UK with Cervarix was the focus of some contention, as it coincided with claims by the Daily Mail of a donation to the ruling Labour party by PowerJect Pharmaceuticals, a firm allegedly connected to GSK, as well as concerning the appointment and subsequent resignation, in July, of one of the drugmaker's leading executives, Paul Blackburn, to the board of Ofsted, the government inspection body for schools. There was an implied suggestion that Mr Blackburn would have a conflict of interest as Ofsted is tasked with enforcing vaccination policies in schools (Marketletter July 14 and 21). GSK denied the claims, explaining that Mr Blackburn was recruited by the government in a personal capacity to provide business experience to the government agency.

Unlike Cervarix, Gardasil provides additional protection against genital warts, for which the National Health Service spends L23.0 million per year, making the non-UK product pay for itself within three or four years, Dr Hammond argued.