Glaxo HPV Vaccine Shows Promise

GlaxoSmithKline(GSK Quote) said Monday its experimental vaccine against a virus that causes cervical cancer appears to be effective among middle-age women as well as teenagers and young women.

The British drug giant said a late-stage clinical trial of its Cervarix vaccine reveals that all women ages 15 to 55 showed a positive response against two types of human papillomavirus, or HPV. These two types -- HPV 16 and HPV 18 -- are the most common causes of cervical cancer among the many versions of the virus.

"These results are encouraging as they open the possibility that all women, regardless of age, would benefit from vaccination against [tumor-causing] HPV infection to protect them against cervical cancer," said Dr. Philippe Monteyne, head of global vaccine development at GlaxoSmithKline. ...