LONDON: A vaccine is on way to prevent cervical cancer and genital warts, claim scientists.
Experimental work carried out by pharmaceutical major Merck & Co has yielded results in developing an effective antidote to the virus associated with these diseases. The vaccine, Gardasil, which could reach the market in 2006, can protect women against four strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV).
There is competition for Merck, in GlaxoSmithKline, which has a product, Cervarix, but it targets just the two strains responsible for cervical cancer. Work done by both the companies is now in final stage clinical studies.
Cervical cancer affects some 470,000 women a year and survival chances are good if the disease is detected and treated early.
The findings have been published in the Lancet Oncology magazine.
Medical scientists are of the view that the best way to prevent cervical cancer is to tackle HPV, the sexually transmitted virus. Three-quarters of sexually active women are understood to be infected with HPV at some time during their lives but in most cases it only lasts for a short time and produces no symptoms.
Dr Luisa Villa of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brazil, and her team, which undertook the research funded by Merck found the vaccine was 90 percent effective against infection with HPV 6, 11, 16 and 18 strains and provided 100 percent protection against pre-cancerous cervical lesions.
The results were almost identical to those reported with Glaxo's product in fighting strains 16 and 18.
Merck, which is partnering in Europe with Sanofi-Aventis, is expected to seek first regulatory approvals for its vaccine in the second half of this year. Glaxo says it will file Cervarix in 2006.
