Gardasil receives positive CHMP recommendation

French vaccines developer Sanofi Pasteur, part of the Sanofi-Aventis group, says that its product Gardasil (human papilloma virus vaccine) has received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use regarding its use in the prevention of human papilloma virus infection. The vaccine, which is being developed by the French firm under the joint venture Sanofi-Pasteur MSD with the USA's Merck & Co, comprises agents that target the four most common HPV viruses (HPV 6,11, 16, 18) which are associated with the development of cervical cancer, and has already been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Gardasil has demonstrated 100% efficacy in blocking the formation of pre-cancerous cervical lesions caused by all four HPV subtypes and, in doing so, has achieved the World Health Organization's most important clinical endpoint in terms of disease prevention.

Sanofi-Aventis' American-depository shares rose $0.12 to close at $47.28 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange on the day of the news. Merck's share price also increased on the day of the announcement, up $0.14 to close at $41.12 per share.