Promising phase 3 results for Merck’s HPV vaccine

Merck (known as MSD outside the US and Canada) has announced that its investigational 9-valent HPV vaccine prevented 97% of cervical, vaginal and vulvar pre-cancers in a recent phase 3 clinical trial.

The clinical trial compared the vaccine, V503, to Gardasil (Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16, and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant) in 16-26 year old females. V503 generated immune responses to HPV types 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58 in addition to the four original HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 in Gardasil.

"Our investigational vaccine V503 reduced HPV-associated precancerous lesions in young women. With our ongoing commitment to research, we are building upon the success obtained with GARDASIL, and we expect to submit a Biologics License Application for V503 to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before the end of 2013."

Roger M. Perlmutter, M.D., Ph.D., president of Merck Research Laboratories.

These data, along with results of two other phase 3 studies, will be presented for the first time at the European Research Organisation on Genital Infection and Neoplasia (EUROGIN) Congress during a late-breaker oral session on Tuesday 5th November.