Danish gov approves free HPV vaccination

The Danish government has decided to provide girls in country with free human papillomavirus vaccination to protect them against cervical cancer and other HPV-related genital diseases. On March 1, the government decided to offer free vaccination of girls aged 12 to 15 as part of the Danish Childhood Vaccination Program. From October 1, girls born between 1993 and 1995 will be eligible to receive HPV immunization from their family doctor. From 2009, all girls will be offered the vaccination when they turn 12.

In October 2007, the Danish National Board of Health recommended free HPV vaccination of young girls. 13 western European countries - Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxemburg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK - have already recommended routine HPV vaccination for pre-adolescents girls, often coupled with catch-up programs. Similar recommendations were made in the USA, Canada and Australia. In 12 of these countries - Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxemburg, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK - reimbursement or funding is already in place or has been announced for 2008 (Marketletters passim).

The move was welcomed by the makers of currently-approved cervical cancer vaccines: Gardasil, made by Sanofi-Pasteur MSD, a European joint venture between French drug major Sanofi Aventis and USA-based Merck & Co; and Cervarix, made by UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline.