Sandy Hutchens Cancer Prevention – GlaxoSmithKline PLC’s cervical cancer vaccine is safe and effective for girls and young women ages 10 to 25, a U.S. advisory panel said on Wednesday.
The endorsement from Food and Drug Administration advisers moves the Cervarix vaccine closer to the U.S. market to compete with Merck & Co Inc’s Gardasil shot.
The panel is set to vote later on Wednesday on whether to allow Merck to widen its potential market for Gardasil by promoting the vaccine to men and boys as young as 9 for prevention of genital warts.
Both vaccines are designed to prevent infection from the human papillomavirus (HPV), a virus that causes cervical cancer and genital warts.