Health min. approves domestic sales of anti-cervical cancer vaccine

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TOKYO, Oct. 16 Kyodo -
The health ministry gave the green light Friday to domestic sales of an
anti-cervical cancer vaccine for the first time with the approval of
GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix.
The move by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare opened the way for the
start of voluntary inoculation with the vaccine, which is thought to be
effective in preventing infections with human papillomaviruses that cause
cervical cancer.
In Japan, around 2,500 women die of the disease every year and the number of
patients with the disease has been on an upward trend among women in their 20s
and 30s, according to medical experts.
The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology and two other doctors' groups
issued a joint statement after the ministry's approval of Cervarix,
recommending that females aged up to 45, and particularly between 11 and 14, be
inoculated with the vaccine. They also called for public support for
vaccination expenses.
Among other pharmaceutical makers, Banyu Pharmaceutical Co. has filed with the
health ministry for approval of sales of its anti-cervical cancer vaccine.
==Kyodo