Sanofi-MSD's Gardasil gets 65 pct subsidy in France
PARIS, July 11 (Reuters) - Sanofi Pasteur-MSD's cervical-cancer vaccine, Gardasil, will be 65 percent reimbursed in France for girls aged 14 to 23 years, the joint venture of drugmakers Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA) and Merck & Co (MRK.N) said on Wednesday.
The reimbursement is for all girls aged 14 and for girls and young women of 15 to 23 who have not yet had sexual relations or whose sexual activity began not more than a year at most before vaccination, the statement said. Gardasil, will be sold at 135.59 euros ($186.4) per dosage or at 406.77 euros for the full treatment. Three dosages are required to protect against cancer-causing strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), the second most common cause of death from cancer among women after breast cancer.
Sales of the cervical cancer vaccine in Europe, where it was launched late last year, have exceeded internal expectations, the head of the SPMSD joint venture said in May. Sanofi last year forecast Gardasil sales could reach between 500 million to 1 billion euros in the next three to five years.
Gardasil could soon face competition from GlaxoSmithKline Plc's (GSK.L) Cervarix, which is expected to be launched in Europe in the second half of 2007 and next year in the United States.
((Reporting by Caroline Jacobs, paris.equities@news.reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: caroline.jacobs.reuters.com@reuters.net; +33 1 49 49 53 43))
($1=.7270 Euro) Keywords: SANOFIPASTEURMSD GARDASIL/
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