The Heat is On…Gardasil Backers
15 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // January 31st, 2007 // 4:11 pm
A Maryland legislator has yanked a bill that would have mandated school-age girls receive a vaccine to prevent HPV, which can lead to cervical cancer.
The about face comes one day after the Associated Press ran a story that Merck and GlaxoSmithKline are supporting Women In Government, a non-profit group, to promote state mandates for their vaccines. (Merck’s Gardasil is available; Glaxo’s is forthcoming).
Maryland state senator Delores Kelley insisted she wasn’t aware of “those external politics,” and will try again next year. She told The Baltimore Sun “the timing is just not right. I decided to do this at a time when things have settled down and we can approach this in a more deliberative manner.”
Talk about a tin ear. Check out the group’s web site and you’ll see she’s a member. You’ll also see that Merck’s Deborah Alfano, executive director of heath policy for the vaccines business, and Elizabeth Seifert, public policy director at Glaxo, are members of the six-person business council, which plays an “integral role in planning future growth” and provides financial backing.
The issue, however, isn’t necessarily straightforward. An interesting blog post last month detailed the connections. Preventing HPV and, by extension, cervical cancer is, indeed, a good thing. And drugmakers actually have the capacity to do good deeds. But the behind-the-scenes promotional efforts deserve some sunlight, too.
The next question to answer is how long will it take before the WIG members receive campaign contributions from the drugmakers? Or have they already?
[tags]Gardasil, GlaxoSmithKline, HPV, Merck, Women in Government[/tags]
Laurie
Bottom line…be careful of any drug or vaccine that comes with it’s own commercial!!
Melody
I read a study out of Great Britain that was interesting. The results certainly were good (for Gardasil & Merck). BUT, when Gardasil is effective against ONLY 4 strains of HPV, and the numbers needed to treat (NNT) ranged from 88 to 160 we have to question the true NEED. How about some freedom of CHOICE instead of government mandates! The relevant text is copied here:
The primary vaccination series consists of three separate 0.5ml doses administered at 0,2, and 6 months. The cost of this course is ₤241.50. In the USA, HPV vaccine is apparently only recommended for girls aged 11-12 years. In the UK there are an estimated 1,250 girls of this age per 100,000 population. Vaccinating this group of girls alone would cost Derbyshire County PCT ₤2.1 million!
shabe
when we posted this story the other day, it caused a huge discussion in our parenting forum … http://nj.com/forums/parenting
shabe
when we posted this story the other day, it caused a huge discussion in our parenting forum … http://nj.com/forums/parenting
Kate
Sorry, but what’s the big deal here? How are the steps all drug companies take to get their products covered–and yes, recieve state mandates for their vaccines–any different when it comes to HPV vaccine? This isn’t news. The only tragedy here is that Maryland decided to pull what was a terrific bill for “political” reasons.
Requiring that all girls get the HPV vaccine would be a huge leap forward for public health–and the health of thopse individual girls.
Let’s try to see the forest through the trees.
Kate
Sorry, but what’s the big deal here? How are the steps all drug companies take to get their products covered–and yes, recieve state mandates for their vaccines–any different when it comes to HPV vaccine? This isn’t news. The only tragedy here is that Maryland decided to pull what was a terrific bill for “political” reasons.
Requiring that all girls get the HPV vaccine would be a huge leap forward for public health–and the health of thopse individual girls.
Let’s try to see the forest through the trees.
Kate
Sorry, but what’s the big deal here? How are the steps all drug companies take to get their products covered–and yes, recieve state mandates for their vaccines–any different when it comes to HPV vaccine? This isn’t news. The only tragedy here is that Maryland decided to pull what was a terrific bill for “political” reasons.
Requiring that all girls get the HPV vaccine would be a huge leap forward for public health–and the health of those individual girls.
Let’s try to see the forest through the trees.
Melody
Kate–
Until the public becomes aware of the cost/benefit ratio, the NNT provides a realistic measure of how well-spent our tax dollars. The “best” outcome here is that Gardasil will make lots of money for Merck and sales reps–and possibly prevent a FEW cases of cervical cancer. If/when government decides to investigate the cost/benefit ratio, there will be an outcry of “waste of taxpayer dollars.”
On the other hand, since we all know NO ONE completes Phase IV (post-marketing) studies; and the FDA’s adverse events reporting system is so convoluted that red flags won’t appear until we start counting bodies or other serious harmful outcomes.
The FDA managed to “protect” Americans from the horrors of thalidomide (several decades ago); they also managed to prevent Lilly to market its dangerous Oraflex (more than a decade ago). But since then, they have served to fast track new drugs & shunned their oversight responsibilities. Consequently, we now have one bad drug following another into the headlines, with attendant lawsuits, namecalling (litigious, scum-sucking lawyers vs. incompetent doctors vs. conscience-less, greedy pharmaceuticals).
I resent the government mandating anything that I may or may not choose to put into my body. I think many mothers would also wish to participate in such decisions for their daughters.
ed
Kate,
First, thanks for writing. Second, I didn’t write that vaccinating girls is a good or bad idea. I was simply commenting on the behind-the-scenes marketing, which in this case, spills over directly into the political arena. You’re right that such efforts are often involved with marketing other medicines. I simply tried to point out that a little transparency about motives and connections makes for a healthier situation, along with good medicines.
Ed
just me
I know for a fact that Women in Government members are accepting campaign money from drug companies, at least in Indiana, where Sen. Connie Lawson filed a similar mandate bill. All you have to do is “follow the money” to their declared contributors. They get money from the drug companies. Period.
ed
Thanks for writing. And I appreciate the tip. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to check all the WIG members to see who may have received money. But it’s something that I haven’t forgotten.
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