Department Of Health Awards Contract For HPV Vaccine

Main Category: Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Sexual Health / STDs;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 19 Jun 2008 - 2:00 PST

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The contract to provide the vaccine against HPV (human papillomavirus), was awarded by the Department of Health to pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline for their vaccine 'Cervarix'.

The contract is to supply the vaccine that protects against cervical cancer and pre-cancerous cell changes in the cervix caused by HPV viruses. The vaccine will guard against the two strains of the HPV virus which cause 70% of cases of cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women worldwide. The vaccine will be made available to girls aged 12-13 years old from September of this year and from September 2009 the vaccine will also be delivered to girls up to 18 years in a two year catch-up programme.

Health Minister Dawn Primarolo said:

"This vaccine could save the lives of 400 women a year. It is a an exciting opportunity to immunise young girls against the future risk of cancer, the impact of which will be felt by women and their families for generations to come.

"With GSK committed to produce the vaccine for the NHS, we will be working closely with the local NHS to ensure the success of this ambitious programmme."

The Joint Commitee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which provides independent expert advice to ministers on vaccination, examined a wide range of evidence before recommending in June 2007 that a HPV vaccination programme be routinely introduced for 12-13 year old girls. The vaccination programme also has support from Cancer Research UK and the cervical cancer charity Jo's Trust.

Notes

1. GSK were awarded this contract following an EU procurement exercise.

2. An adjudication was carried out to carefully examine the vaccines offered against a wide range of criteria such as their scientific qualities and cost effectiveness. The criteria used for the adjudication had been shared in advance with the companies which tendered. Based on this assessment, the Department of Health has chosen to purchase Cervarix.

3. The cost of the vaccine is commercially confidential. It will be purchase by the Department of Health who will supply it free of charge to the NHS. The Department of Health will provide an additional £8.9m to PCTs - just over £55k for an average sized PCT - to support the implementation of the programme. This funding will pay for, for example, nurses to give the vaccine.

Department of Health , UK