British doctor chooses Gardasil shot over Cervarix

LONDON (Reuters) - Even though Britain chose GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix for its cervical cancer vaccine program, many British doctors pick Merck and Co's Gardasil for their own daughters, a well-known physician said on Friday.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, Phil Hammond said every doctor with whom he has spoken has chosen Gardasil for their children because the vaccine also protects against genital warts.

"The National Health Service vaccination program may have opted for the Cervarix to concentrate resources on preventing cervical cancer, but every doctor I've spoken to has chosen Gardasil for their own daughters," Hammond, a doctor and media broadcaster in Britain wrote.

Cervarix is one of Glaxo's most important new products but it is still waiting for U.S. approval, a delay putting it further behind its rival in the world's largest drugs market. This has made acceptance in Europe key.

Gardasil and Cervarix are designed to be given to girls and young women to protect against cancer-causing strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer.

Although similar, the vaccines are not identical. Gardasil targets four strains of HPV -- two responsible for cervical cancer and two causing the less serious condition of genital warts. Glaxo's product addresses only the two cancer strains.

Sanofi-Aventis, which markets the vaccine in Europe with Merck through a joint venture, claims this gives Gardasil a clinical and economic advantage, since treating genital warts creates an earlier cost for healthcare authorities.

But Cervarix is cheaper, which is one reason why Britain chose the Glaxo vaccine. The government did not disclose how much it would pay for Cervarix but a recent study estimated its price of 13 to 21 pounds less than Gardasil would save up to 19 million pounds in the first year of the immunization program.

The problem, Hammond writes, is that people who can afford the more expensive treatment will likely opt for it, creating a two-tiered health service that most benefits the well-to-do.

"Outside the program many doctors will recommend Gardasil because of the extra protection it offers so we may end up with all women in the program getting Cervarix and most outside of it getting Gardasil," he said.

"This clearly has the potential to undermine the program."

(Reporting by Michael Kahn; Editing by David Cowell)