Posted on 06/23/2006 7:21:19 AM PDT by veronica
An Israeli-born doctor stands at the head of team from pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc. who announced this week the FDA approval of the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer
Senior director of Clinical Research, Merck Research Laboratories Dr. Eliav Barr, originally from Haifa, said about bout the genetically engineered vaccine Gardasil, "This is the first time we have been able to state that administration of the vaccine is going to have an effect on cervical cancer."
In the United States, almost 10,000 women develop cervical cancer each year, leading to 3,000 deaths. In the developing world, the problem is far worse, probably because women are less likely to get screenings that can catch unusual growths before they become cancerous. Worldwide, cervical cancer kills 300,000 women a year.
Almost all the cases of cervical cancer are caused by infection with the human papilloma virus, or HPV, which causes normal cells to multiply out of control. Some strains of HPV lead to cancer (two strains account for 70% of cervical cancers), and others cause genital warts.
Because cervical cancer does not occur in women who have not contracted HPV, Merck, under Barr's guidance, has developed what is essentially the world's first cancer vaccine.
Public health experts called the Gardasil vaccine a major advance against the disease. "This vaccine is a significant advance in the protection of women's health in that it strikes at the infections that are the root cause of many cervical cancers," acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach told Reuters.
Given in three doses over six months, Gardasil targets four HPV types believed to cause more than 70 percent of cervical cancer cases and 90 percent of genital warts. The vaccine was approved for use in girls and women ages 9 to 26, Merck said.
Barr started his medical career as a cardiologist. So it was quite a shift in the mid-1990s when his employer, Merck, asked Barr to join a team that was developing an HPV vaccine.
"I had to go look up what HPV meant," Barr, 42, told The Intelligencer. "This is about as far as you can get from medicine."
Barr said he's overwhelmed by the feeling that he's helped develop something that will save millions of lives.
"It's very difficult to describe," Barr said. "One gets very emotional. It's really a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing."
The biggest challenge for Gardasil comes because of the target market: adolescent girls. HPV is a sexually transmitted disease, and some 20 million American men and women have it. To prevent women from getting cervical cancer, women must be inoculated before they become sexually active. But for some parents and religious groups, that might be a touchy question.
Merck's Barr says that won't be a problem. "You have to understand what's at stake here," he told Forbes. "Regardless of your background, as a parent, you want to be able to protect your child against cancer."
Wonderful...
One man who believes in Tikun Olam!
Thank God. May it have great success and
blessing to all who use it and need it.
GlaxoSmithKline just had a cervical cancer vaccine approved by the FDA last week.
Expect it to be on the market within a year.
Speaking like a true obscurantist religious fanatic... Oblivious of reality!
By now I must say I won't cry if your daughter catch this cancer!
I resent you implying that I am a fanatic, you don't know me or my background. It is just nasty. I hope both of my daughters will choose to honor their Creator and respect their bodies. You don't just catch this cancer, it comes from having promiscuous sex outside of marriage.
And what if it is her husband who has contracted the virus and passes it along to her? I know I never explained my kid's vaccinations to them. If this is part of the normal vaccination routine, why would the child know she had been vaccinated for it until she was much older?
Are you saying as a parent that if your daughter marries a man that has had sex before then your daughter deserves what she gets if she contacts this disease?
Simple solution, don't have your daughters vacinated.
Obviously Merck believes there are enough potential customers out there to turn a profit on the drug.
By virtue of what would you shut their efforts down? Why should Merck educate your children?
Well hopefully if my daughter decide to marry men who have had previous relations, they would be tested for HPV along with AIDS etc. I haven't stated whether or not I would be for immunization or against having it, I just stated that once again one of the natural consequences of premarital sex are being removed.
Are you saying as a parent that if your daughter marries a man that has had sex before then your daughter deserves what she gets if she contacts this disease?
THAT IS AN ASININE STATEMENT.
SWo what?
You are against pre-marital sex? Your right...
But wishing cancer on those that don't have any problem with it is the sign of fanatical obscurantism...
Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel.
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Obviously you did not read my post completely one of the things I stated was that I DID NOT WISH CANCER ON ANYONE.
I would do it in a minute!
And so should every other responsible parent...
Do you read posts completely?
But bewailing a vaccine that prevents cancer in sexually-active women is the same as wishing they get it...
Obviously it won't be Merck, they'll be getting paid. Capitalism and all.
If you don't want your daughter vacinated, you won't pay.
If I want my daugter vacinated, I'll pay. And frankly it's none of your business.
As others have noted, we're also addressing the consequences of a future mates sex life. I'll add rape to the list.
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