Gardasil Case

Unfortunately, there is not a vaccination to protect against every type of cancer. However, the Gardasil vaccine guards against certain strands of HPV that cause 70% of cervical cancers in women. When caught early, the Human papillomavirus is treatable, but after the virus has developed into cancer, there is no cure. Therefore, the person affected begins a painful, uncertain journey to try to save her life. The Encyclopedia of Women’s Health states, “Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection may be the most common viral sexually transmitted disease (STD) in this country. As many as 30 million Americans are infected with HPV, and each year, an additional 1 million people become infected.” (“Human Papillomavirus”). When this many people are affected by a disease that can become cancer, it would be doltish not to use available resources to prevent it. “Nationally and internationally, the HPV vaccine will significantly

The HPV virus has gone unseen by many until the recent controversy over the vaccine. However, this virus is thought to be one of the world’s most wide spread STD’s. “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 6.2 million women and men are newly infected every year” with HPV. HPV has over 100 strains, with more than thirty that are sexually transmitted. Some of these strains are known to cause cervix, vulva, vagina, anus, or penis cancers and others can cause genital warts. “Studies have found the vaccine to be almost 100% effective in preventing diseases caused by the four HPV types covered by the vaccine—including precancers of the cervix, vulva and vagina, and genital warts” (“HPV Questions and

There are many reasons that this vaccine could be beneficial, not only to our society, but to many of the underdeveloped nations of the world in which HPV and cervical cancer are still considered to be an epidemic (MacDonald). It could save the young women who get the vaccine from the future trouble of dealing with a highly invasive cancer, as well as protect them from the embarrassment that comes with contracting a venereal disease. However, the controversy of this topic is not in whether the vaccine is a benefit to women’s health, which many, including the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control, believe that it is; but in the debate over whether it is the parents’ right, not the states’, to choose what is best for their child. The question of mandatory vaccination raises medical, moral and legal issues that are not easily reconcilable (Lovinger). Many parents are opposed to the mandating of this vaccine for three reasons. First, HPV is not spread by casual contact, as are the other diseases that children are vaccinated against for the safety of the classrooms. Second, the vaccine has only been approved for a short while, thus not all of the side effects and long term effects are known. Last, parents are afraid that by getting their child vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease they will be encouraging promiscuity. Gardasil would become the first vaccine mandated for school-aged children that targets a

The HPV vaccine is cancer prevention. Over thousands of cases of HPV cancers are detected every year in men and women. The HPV vaccination is important because it can prevent these cancers. The United States Food and Drug Administration approved this vaccine and it is one hundred percent safe. This vaccine is preventive care for the second leading cancer in women. It has been proven to be one hundred percent effective in prevention of cervical cancer, but the vaccine must be given to children between the age of 11 -17 before they become sexually active. After the age seventeen with young women most become sexually active and receive their first pap smear from their gynecologist, receiving the vaccine at this point is not as effective in prevention of cancers. Another benefit of receiving the vaccine during adolescent, is it supports people who may not have the medical knowledge or access to regular medical services.

In the lobbying case, it talks about HPV or human papilloma virus, which is a virus that causes cervical cancer. Merek, a pharmaceutical company, received approval from the Food and Drug Administration that Gardasil could be put on the market for protection against HPV. Prior to being approved by the FDA, Merk had already started to develop a market for their product, Gardasil. They targeted girls entering middle school and wanted it to be a mandatory vaccine that is given the same time as all the other vaccines that are due at that time but they started to receive criticism from that. The CDC recommended that the vaccine be given to women between the ages of 9 and 26, and to girls ages 11 and 12 before they became sexually active. Physicians

Merck’s aggressive lobbying campaign was intended to boost sales of its Gardasil vaccine, which received Food and Drug Administration approval. FDA approved Gardasil on June 8, 2006, for females ages 9 -26 to help prevent cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV). It included types 16 and 18 and genital warts caused by HPV types 6 and 11 (Bethel University, 2011). The FDA gave Gardasil a fast approval, something called a “Fast Track”. This is used when a drug that is targeted to a certain disease has been developed, and can be for therapy. To have a product “Fast Track” it must poses the following; avoid serious side effects, improvement the diagnosis of a disease, and show superior effectiveness

Merck is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world today. Although encountered with success, it still faces many problems today while trying to be the market leader competing against its competition. While being research and development driven company, Merck now has to go beyond R&D to stay competitive in the pharmaceutical industry. The main issue that seems to come up is that how far it can progress with the dual challenge of hitting peak annual financial performance while keeping the research pipeline full continued to weigh on senior management. Through the late 80s to early 90s, Merck was able to boast

The Gardasil vaccine should be mandated for those ages 11-17 years old. The Gardasil vaccine prevents against HPV, Human Papillomavirus. Human Papillomavirus can cause cancer in the cervix, vagina, vulva, anus, penis, and throat. Mandating this vaccine would help reduce STD’s among teenagers as well as improve their quality and length of life. Mandating the Gardasil vaccine would better the state’s health for years to come.

Merck is a drug manufacture giant who brings an annual revenue of nearly fifty billion. Prior the Vioxx recall Merck was a highly valued company when it came to its ethical standard. It had consistently toped list for companies to work for (Lawrence & Weber, 2014). In addition to this they were well recognized as a socially responsible company who placed an importance on testing to provide the best quality pharmaceuticals. The Vioxx recall caused a huge blow for the company resulting in lawsuits and drop in company value.

June 8th, 2006, the FDA approves the Gardasil shot for preventing cervical cancer and/or HPV diseases. The Gardasil shot for best effects is given to both genders between age 11 and 12. The shot is given in 3 doses, the 2nd is given 2 months after the first, while the 3rd is 4 months after the 2nd. Go and receive your vaccine today to protect you from the most common cervical cancer strains!

Some parents worry about the safety of Gardasil because it has only been on the market for 9 years. Gardasil has proven effective for 29,000 males and females aged 9-45 in 7 phase 3 trials. Gardasil was safety tested for 5 years before it hit the market in 2006(Vichnin et al. 2015). Worldwide there has been over 178 million doses administered. In 2009, the FDA approved the drug for treatment in boys aged 9-26 for treatment of genital warts (Vichnin et al. 2015).

In application, people might view Merck’s duties in different ways. For example, one might argue that as a company Merck only has responsibilities to release effective and safe medications and to make a profit to stay in business. On the other hand, it could be argued that as a pharmaceutical company Merck has special obligations to follow leads (like ivermectin) because they may greatly benefit human beings or save lives despite being unprofitable.

Merck’s diverse product lines provide the company with a broad target customer base of doctors and any consumer in need of medication. Their

BVSx was a small independent division of a big pharmaceutical company located in Luxembourg. It is a technological leader and company number 2 in the vaccine market today. During last years BVSx’s profits raised and its share in the group revenue increased from 5 to 20%. According to analyst report by Banque de Genève, two latest cancer treatment products create a new market up to $ 2 bln. Implementation of “Augmentor®” technologies gives VxC1 (cancer treatment vaccine) several advantages over similar competitor’s product. The only problem associated with this particular case is that low efficiency of Purchasing Department and poor communications with R&D specialists led to further problems over the

In the last several years, Merck’s individual R &D department has not been able to keep pace with declining revenues from existing products. It is only through Mergers and Acquisitions that Merck has supplemented this income.