Health | November 17, 2008 | 1 comment

Cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, has been awarded the drug industry equivalent of a Nobel Prize

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THE Australian-pioneered cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, has been awarded the drug industry equivalent of a Nobel Prize.

Gardasil beat cancer and anti-smoking drugs to win the pharmaceutical industry's top award, the International Prix Galien.

The Queensland drug designer, the immunologist Ian Frazer, said the vaccine was a "major public health breakthrough" that may "prevent a quarter of a million deaths worldwide" each year.

"In this sense this vaccine is getting the recognition it deserves," Professor Frazer said.
Gardasil beat Australian-approved cancer treatments Avastin and Erbitux, credited with slowing the growth of tumours in several types of cancer. Also in the running was Champix, a drug that helps people quit smoking by reducing cigarette craving and withdrawal symptoms.

Gardasil, which has joined the immunisation program for girls and young women, prevents 70 per cent of cervical cancer cases by blocking the two strains of human papillomavirus linked to the deadly disease.
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