Over at the Center for Media and Democracy’s PR Watch http://www.prwatch.org/node/7748  Judith Siers-Poisson writes:

“With the start of the school year, debate has heated up again about Gardasil, Merck‘s vaccine against human papillomavirus. Since writing my series of four articles on The Politics and PR of Cervical Cancer last year, I have continued to track the developments

“The push for mandatory vaccination continues, and many of its supporters have received money from Merck, including Women in Government, about whom I wrote extensively in my article, "Women in Government: Merck’s Trojan Horse." Despite a palpable turning of the tide against mandates, Women in Government still swims against the current. In a 2008 report titled "State of Cervical Cancer Prevention in America," WIG continued to push for mandates and gave higher scores to states that have introduced or passed legislation for this purpose.”

Siers-Poisson observes that “Despite its corner on the market, Merck is not making as much on Gardasil as previously planned. Forbes reported on September 12, 2008 that "Merck has already scaled back full-year sales estimates for Gardasil from between $1.9 billion and $2.1 billion to between $1.4 billion and $1.6 billion, following regulatory setbacks and challenges making inroads with young adult patients." The company also suffered another financial setback: after initially insisting that it would never settle personal injury claims related to Vioxx deaths, Merck did just that to the tune of $4.85 billion. People injured by the painkiller are not the only ones who want Merck to pay up. Merck investors are also seeking class action status for a Vioxx-related suit against the company. Merck was initially successful in getting that claim dismissed, but the Wall Street Journal reported last week that the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed that ruling."

Meanwhile, “the August 21, 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) carried both an editorial and a lengthy study on HPV vaccines. The editorial was written by Dr. Charlotte J. Haug, editor of The Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association. She directly challenged the claim that HPV vaccination is effective at preventing cervical cancer. ‘Despite great expectations and promising results of clinical trials, we still lack sufficient evidence of an effective vaccine against cervical cancer,’ she wrote. ‘With so many essential questions still unanswered, there is good reason to be cautious.’”

Following the NEJM’s lead, the New York Times published an article titled "Researchers Question Wide Use of HPV Vaccines," which quoted extensively from the NEJM. Siers-Poisson underlines a “key point” in The Times article :” Since cervical cancer grows slowly (often a decade from infection to full-blown cancer), there is no hard evidence yet that an HPV vaccine will actually lower the rate of cervical cancer. The vaccines can prevent some HPV infections that may lead eventually to cervical cancer if not diagnosed and treated. However, the tests have not lasted long enough yet to say definitively that the result will actually translate into a real decrease in cervical cancer. Evidence of real benefit therefore won’t be available until enough years have passed that girls who receive the vaccine can be compared against those who don’t as they pass into adulthood and beyond.

“That is quite a bombshell,” she adds, “and certainly a different message than Merck’s marketing blitz has encouraged the public to embrace.”  To read the full update, including a description of Merck’s current advertising campaign and “things to look for” click http://www.prwatch.org/node/7748