The battle to supply a vaccine against cervical cancer for use across Britain has been won by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

Cervarix, the GSK vaccine, will be given to girls aged between 12 and 13, starting in September this year, and should prevent about 70 per cent of cervical cancers — saving 400 lives a year when the effect is fully felt.

The outcome of the race to win the tender has been eagerly awaited, with GSK competing against Sanofi-Pasteur MSD, which is marketing a rival vaccine, Gardasil, developed by Merck.

Both vaccines have shown good trial results, but Gardasil was first to gain licensing approval and has mopped up most of the world market so far.

The decision to award the contract to Cervarix is believed to have been largely based on price, but neither GSK nor the Department of Health was willing to disclose what that was.

Sanofi-Pasteur said yesterday that the decision meant that girls in Britain would not benefit from “the world's leading four-type HPV vaccine”.

Nicholas Kitchin, UK Medical Director for Sanofi-Pasteur, said: “We regret that schoolgirls in the UK, unlike most of their peers in Western Europe, the US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, will not benefit from the unmatched cervical cancer protection and additional benefits provided by the world's leading HPV vaccine, Gardasil."

Eddie Gray, President of Pharmaceuticals Europe for GSK, said: “This is great news for girls and women across the UK and reflects the growing confidence in Cervarix, which provides cervical cancer protection with a strong and sustained immune response.

“We are delighted to be working with the UK Department of Health to help to reduce the burden of cervical cancer and believe the benefits of this programme will be felt by women and their families for generations to come.”

Cervarix is approved in 64 countries worldwide, but not yet in the US, where the Food and Drug Administration has called for extra data.

Gardasil, the first in the market, has so far won most of the contracts. Gardasil is, or will be, used exclusively for campaigns in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Switzerland, Sanofi-Pasteur said.

So Britain has opted for a vaccine that is second in the market and lacks approval in the US - but is made by a British company and, like Gardasil, has had good trial results.

Dawn Primarolo, the Health Minister, said: “This vaccine could save the lives of 400 women a year. It is an exciting opportunity to immunise young girls against the future risk of cancer, the impact of which will be felt by women and their families for generations to come.

“With GSK committed to produce the vaccine for the NHS, we will be working closely with the local NHS to ensure the success of this ambitious programmme."

The vaccine guards against two strains of the human papilloma virus, which cause 70 per cent of cases of cervical cancer.

Explore Health

• Expert Advice

• Health Features

• Mental Health

• Alternative Medicine

• Child Health

• Health Club