On Wednesday, Merck & Co. announced that it would be conducting clinical trials to examine the efficiency and safety of a single-dose regimen versus the current three-dose regimen for its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, Gardasil 9.
The business announced that it will test Gardasil 9 in two different trials with participants ranging in age from 16 to 26. The purpose of the trials is to see whether a single dose of the vaccine offers similar long-term protection to the authorized three-dose regimen or not.
Merck anticipates that enrollment in the massive, multi-year studies will begin in the fourth quarter of 2024.
In the fourth quarter, the pharmaceutical company also intends to start human trials for an experimental HPV vaccination that targets several HPV types in order to provide more comprehensive protection.
In order to prevent infections brought on by nine different HPV strains as well as malignancies of the cervical, vulvar, vaginal, and anal regions, the US Food and Drug Administration first authorized Gardasil 9 in 2014.
As of right now, Gardasil 9 is safe for use in men and women ages 9 to 45.
According to government data, HPV causes roughly 36,000 cancer cases in the US each year in both men and women.
