The Author, Renate Klein is absolutely spot on about Giant Pharmaceuticals Merck,CSL, GlaxoSmith Kline etc. Where there's a buck to be made - ethics, honesty, integrity, and patient recovery soon fly out the window..becoming the first casualty of zeitgeist bean counters.

Business management,spurred on by avaricious stake/share holders are more concerned about dividends, EPS's, and double digit Superannuation Fund returns than legions of dying and infected F&M with incurable diseases.
Least of their worries. The circus band plays on.

Merck Sharp& Dohme's world wide sales (2008) $24.4B. Up 10%.Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, established 1916, represented 27 Countries (2008) revenue $ 702. Up 30%. ASX shares currently $ 37.67.
Scenario: Bull. Buy.

If you want solid growth, security and uninterrupted sleep at night, this is the place to be.

History records Health Minister in the Howard Govt, Tony Abbot who approved PBS listing of Gardasil through the Medical Assn Committee, TGA and Drug Evaluation Commission 2006. For 3 shots @ $135.00. Pharmacy's dispensing fee's 3 @ $12.50, plus Doctor's visit 3@ $85.00
Spin off's include courier service,syringe disposal,refrigeration, post-trauma backup, research grants, subsidies, clinical trials, drug monitoring, red tape etc. One soon get the hang of the cost involved and corpulent taxpayer's largesse. To date 26 million doses World-wide with 3.7 Aussie females aged 11-26.

Merck in it's relentless drive for market share have been cited by FDA for false advertising, and arguably miraculous claims of cancer cures from their product. Merck Aust registered Gardasil June 2006. Resolution 8971 " a prophylactic HPV vaccine for types 6,11,16,18. GlaxoSmith: Cervarix for type 16, 18.

Interesting enough of 130 strains of Human Papillomana Virus (HPV)only 3 % are identifiable types. Verrucae (warts)Cervical Cancer. Cancer with no symptoms. Dispute surfaces when exorbitant blanket claims of 70-80 % covers all cerv cancers when in fact only 2 strains, and anal cancer 6,11 is addressed. At present there is no FDA approved screening test for verrucae. What of the remaining 97 %.Moreover, Pap smear screening only identifies visual abnormalities !

US Cancer Assn estimates (08)of 11,070 females diagnosed with invasive cerv cancer, 3870 will die.By year 2010,

6.2 million new (age 15-44) cases. Of these 74% will have at least one strain of genital HPV. 75-80% sexually active persona will be infected at some point of their lives, including gay men. Both sexes are carriers. 40-50% is sexually transmitted in the anogenital area. The inescapable fact is currently there is NO cure or treatment. Worst, PBS is denied the opposite sex. Nicola Roxon, when contacted said the Rudd Govt had no plans to extend PBS coverage at this juncture. Discriminatory ?

The Gardasil saga began when Politicians got into the act. Enigmatic Professor Ian Fraser, after 12 years of back breaking research and experimentation in a pokey,renovated WC at the Prince Alfred Hospital. Brisbane. With only 4 dedicated staff, borrowed scientific equipment, and liaisons with QIT, UQ they accidentally discovered a feasible antidote for some forms of HPV, which showed promise. JWH immediately pounced, elevating Fraser to Australian of the Year, showering him with accolades, and even sought Nobel Prize nomination ? Political Kudos.

The scientific world became equally impressed with Merck, GlaxoSmith, Pfizer, Roche vying for the privilege of developing, marketing and fast-tracking FDA approval. The spin PR spruikers roared their endorsement specially when the ground work cost them zilch.

Merck's Vioxx ( Refecoxib) which gained FDA authorization is the subject of $4.85B individual claim in US Courts. FDA issues drug warnings, recently reported increase of 150(2007) from 98( 2006) for promotional activities, risky undertakings, malpractice, deaths.

German Pharma Grunetial 1957 introduced Thalidomide which Canadian Health Official's not only approved post haste, agreed to be sold without prescription. Off the shelf. Richard-Merril Inc (Can) distributed the product under license.USFDA stalled, following clinical trial evaluation. Result: 120,000 babies born with deformities. It took 4 years to stop circulation. It is marketed under different names throughout the World.
It's been used to treat prostrate, AIDS, and leprosy.

Merck was under a criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice for failing to disclose life threatening risks of Vioxx at the very time it was pressuring states to make Gardasil mandatory for little girls entering seventh grade in the US. As internal emails obtained during the Vioxx investigation prove, the company is corrupt to the core. What sane parent would trust their daughter's life to this company.

Don't forget that Gardasil is being offered on an opt-in basis. If parents don't sign the consent form the girls don't get vaccinated. And there is information on possible side effects with the consent form.