Merck’s Gardasil for Boys: How Will Those Ads Play? (CNBC’s Pharma’s Market)
In his blog, Mike Huckman writes about Merck testing Gardasil, its cervical cancer vaccine, on young men. The company said it expects data from clinical trials next year and hopes to win approval for both males and females.

Merck hopes to have the shot approved as a treatment for oropharyngeal cancer, a type of oral cancer that occurs as a result of HPV-16/18. Huckman cites an article in the medical journal Cancer written by doctors at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center that backs the use of the vaccine in young men: “‘Although the cervical cancer...prevention policy of the HPV-16/18 (another leading cancer-causing strain) vaccination of young women and adolescent females are commended, we fear that vaccination programs limited to females will only delay the potential benefit in prevention of HPV-16/18-associated [oropharyngeal] cancers, which typically occur in men. We encourage the rapid study of the efficacy and safety of these vaccines in males and, if successful, the recommendation of vaccination in young adult and adolescent males.’”