The Lancet
Mar 20, 2010  Volume 375  Number 9719  Pages 955 – 1052
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Comment
Gardasil: from bench, to bedside, to blunder
Peter B Bach

Preview
The 2006 approval of Merck’s human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (Gardasil) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) exemplified the potential of bench-to-bedside research. This vaccine against the virus that causes cervical cancer received immediate recommendation by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)1 for routine use in girls aged 11 and 12 years, along with catch-up vaccination for girls and women aged 13–26 years. The vaccine was incorporated into the CDC’s Vaccines for Children Program at the same time…