#Gardasil vs #Cervarix–let the cost effectiveness battle begin
According to a study published on the British Medical Journal’s website, Merck’s and Sanofi’s HPV vaccine Gardasil is more cost effective than GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix. In the U.K., doses of the vaccines are listed as £80.50 for Cervarix and £88.50 for Gardasil, respectively.
Due to the discrepancy in coverage — Cervarix protects against two strains of HPV compared to Gardasil‘s four — U.K.’s Health Protection Agency says the former would have to be £19 ($29.70) to £35 cheaper to be as cost effective as the quadrivalent vaccine. But the study’s authors caution that cost shouldn’t be the only factor in determining which vaccine to use. Research has shown Cervarix may prevent more deaths than Gardasil.
"Clinical and public health decisions about choice of HPV vaccine need to take into account the whole spectrum of differences between vaccines and the uncertainty around them," the authors wrote, according to Bloomberg.
How much do you think cost effectiveness should influence government decisions?
