ACIP Recommends Glaxo's Cervarix

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK - Analyst Report) recently received a positive recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for its cervical cancer vaccine, Cervarix. The CDC has recommended that Cervarix should be given to girls and young women to protect against cervical pre-cancers and cervical cancer caused by oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 and 18.
 
The committee also recommended that the vaccine should be used in 11 and 12 year old girls specifically and in girls and young women who have not yet been vaccinated. Cervarix, which received approval in the U.S. recently, is indicated for the prevention of cervical pre-cancers and cervical cancer associated with oncogenic HPV types 16 and 18 for use in girls and young women (aged 10-25).
 
The ACIP’s recommendation should help increase adoption of the vaccine, which is slated to hit the U.S. market later this year. Cervarix is approved in 100 countries around the world, including the 27 member states of the European Union, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico and Taiwan.
 
The U.S. approval of Cervarix will open up a large market for the product, which recorded £125 million in global sales in 2008. Once launched, Glaxo will compete directly with Merck’s (MRK - Analyst Report) Gardasil. Although Merck beat Glaxo to the market, we believe Cervarix comparatively offers a broader base, has more potent protection and could achieve peak sales of approximately £1.5 billion.
 
The American Cancer Society estimates that about 11,000 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 4,000 women will die from the disease in 2009 in the U.S. Globally, more than 500,000 women are expected to be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 280,000 women to die from it every year.