NHS to Change HPV Vaccine Supplier

The UK will select Merck's Gardasil vaccine instead of GSK's rival product Cervarix to prevent girls from contracting the HPV virus.

Sanofi Pasteur MSD, a joint venture between Merck and French drug maker Sanofi, won the bid to supply the vaccine against the HPV virus in the next school year in a competitive tendering process, according to an announcement by the UK Department of Health.

The UK will switch to using Merck's Gardasil vaccine instead of GlaxoSmithKline's rival product Cervarix to prevent girls from contracting the HPV virus, which can cause cervical cancer.

GSK, whose vaccine was introduced into the national immunisation programme in September 2008 for girls aged 12-13, opted not to bid in the process because the government had made clear it wanted a vaccine offering broader protection.

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