Deliver Your News to the World

Cervarix, GSK’s cervical cancer vaccine, wins tender for Dutch national immunisation programme


WEBWIRE

GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) cervical cancer vaccine, Cervarix, was today confirmed by the Netherlands Vaccine Institute (NVI) as the cervical cancer vaccine for the Dutch National Immunisation Programme (NIP).

GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) cervical cancer vaccine, Cervarix TM, was today confirmed by the Netherlands Vaccine Institute (NVI) as the cervical cancer vaccine for the Dutch National Immunisation Programme (NIP). GSK will supply Cervarixfor the programme, which aims to vaccinate all 12 year old girls. A catch-up programme for all girls aged 13 to 16 will also start within the first half of 2009, with the aim of reducing the risk of HPV infection and cervical cancer for a broader group of Dutch girls. The National programme for girls aged between 12 and 13 will commence in September 2009. It is estimated that more than 350,000 girls in total will be vaccinated with Cervarix in the first year.

“We are delighted with this decision and the fact that since Cervarix received European approval it has been selected as the cervical cancer vaccine for more than half of eligible tenders across Europe,” said Eddie Gray, President of Pharmaceuticals Europe for GSK. “We look forward to working with the Netherlands Vaccine Institute to support the successful implementation of the Public Health vaccination programme so that girls in the Netherlands will benefit from the effective and sustained protection against cervical cancer which Cervarix offers"

Cervarix has been designed specifically to protect against cervical cancer and has demonstrated high protection against HPV 16 and 18, which are responsible for approximately 70% of cervical cancers1 worldwide. With clinical data from over 6 years of follow-up, Cervarix has the longest duration of protection reported for any HPV vaccine to date.

In the Netherlands, the cervical cancer NIP has been added to the existing National Screening Programme that recommends women of 30 years and over have a PAP-smear test every five years in order to combat cervical cancer. It is estimated that nationally, up to 700 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and more than 200 die from the disease each year, making it the second biggest killer of women after breast cancer.2 Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women globally, killing one woman every two minutes.3,4 As well as the deaths associated with the disease, cervical cancer and pre-cancerous lesions are also a significant cause of emotional and physical distress in women.5Alongside screening and a healthy lifestyle, vaccination is expected to significantly reduce the lifetime risk of cervical cancer.6



WebWireID80429





This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.