The FDA recently announced the approval of a second HPV vaccine for the U.S. market. Cervarix, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, is the sole competitor to rival vaccine Gardasil, produced by Merck & Co. The vaccines differ in the strains of HPV they guard against, but both will fight the two most common strains that cause 70% of cervical cancers. At the same time, however, the FDA also granted approval for Merck’s Gardasil to be used in preventing genital warts (not genital cancer) in boys and men ages 9 through 26. But, do our children need yet another vaccine? You be the judge. Both vaccines are expected to net their respective companies over $1 billion per year in the coming years. [via ABC News]
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Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.