HPV Vaccine Revenues Reach $2.5 Billion

Merck & Co. today announced its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines sales increased 47% to reach $2.5 billion, and if you exclude the Impact of Foreign Exchange, sales actually grew by 53%.

Merck's GARDASIL 9® is a vaccine indicated in men and women, 9 through 45 years of age, to prevent cancers caused by the HPV. It has been available in the United States since late 2016.

The original GARDASIL® vaccine consists of 4 proteins of HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18. is available in other countries.

According to the World Health Organization, HPV vaccination programs that began pre-pandemic reached the same number of women in 2022 as in 2019, with mean coverages reaching 67% in high-income countries and 55% in low- and middle-income countries.

Millions of men and women aged 27–45 may still benefit from HPV vaccination, says Merck.

"We continue to make great progress as we advance our broad and deep pipeline, raise the bar of innovation, and bring forward leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world," said Robert M. Davis, chairman, and chief executive officer of Merck, in a press release issued on August 1, 2023.

HPV is a double-stranded DNA virus that belongs to the Papillomaviridae family. There are over 100 subtypes of HPV, characterized as high-risk or low-risk. And it is the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide.

From a clinical perspective, HPV vaccinations reduce anal HPV infection and anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN).

A study published on May 31, 2023, concluded there is strong evidence for high vaccine efficacy against anal HPV infection and AIN in HIV-negative individuals vaccinated at age ≤26 years.