UK heath panel delays Gardasil

A decision on recommending the use of Sanofi Pasteur MSD's cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil (quadrivalent human papilloma virus [types 6, 11, 16, 18] recombinant vaccine) by a UK Department of Health advisory panel has been postponed until at least June and, even though the product has been approved in terms of efficacy and safety, is now unlikely to be made available for National Health Service use for a further 18 months.

The sub-group of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization said after its last meeting at end-February, that it is doing "further work" to evaluate whether the vaccine is cost effective and whether it should be introduced into the UK's immunization program.

According to a report from Bloomberg, the JCVI has been deliberating for three years whether to reimburse the vaccine, which is administered in three doses over a six-month period at a cost of L241.50 ($465,08).