Panel OKs Merck Vaccine

Medical advisers to the Food and Drug Administration unanimously said Thursday that the agency should approve a Merck(MRK Quote) vaccine against a virus that causes cervical cancer.

The FDA advisory committee said the vaccine Gardasil was safe and effective for girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26. The agency isn't bound by its advisers' recommendations, but it usually follows their suggestions. The FDA is scheduled to act on Merck's application by June 8.

If approved, Gardasil would be the first vaccine against human papillomavirus, or HPV. Although there are many types of HPV, Gardasil targets two versions of sexually transmitted HPV that account for a majority of cervical cancer cases. Merck says these two types cause an estimated 70% of cervical cancer cases. That estimate is backed by the National Cancer Institute, although a recent FDA report said these two forms of HPV cause more than 50% of cervical cancer cases. ...