Choosing Glaxo's Cervarix could save money

LONDON (Reuters) - The decision to choose GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix cervical cancer vaccine over Merck and Co's Gardasil could save the government 20 million pounds annually, researchers said on Friday.

The study published in the British Journal of Medicine is some of the evidence the health department used to make its choice in June to award Glaxo the contract for a national immunisation programme, the researchers said.

"This was a piece of evidence the government used in its decision and now we are making it available in the public domain," Mark Jit and colleagues from the Health Protection Agency wrote.

Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus. The cancer kills 300,000 women each year, mostly in developing countries.

In June, Britain chose Cervarix for its vaccination programme starting in September for girls aged 12 to 13. Cervarix protects against the two types of human papilloma virus responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancers.

Five EU countries -- Britain, France, Germany, Austria, and Italy -- have introduced the vaccination into their national health programmes and most are considering it.

The Department of Health has not released financial details of its contract with Glaxo and has not said how much it will pay for the vaccines.

Cervarix is arguably the most important new product for Glaxo this decade but its path to market in the United States has been problematic, with the FDA delaying approval last December pending more information.

Merck's Gardasil is available on both sides of the Atlantic and achieved global sales of $390 million (195 million pounds) in the first quarter of this year.