The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine Gardasil Friday for males ages 9 to 26. Gardasil was approved to prevent genital warts caused by two strains of human papillomavirus (HPV): HPV6 and HPV 11, according to WebMD.
Gardasil, which is already approved for women, blocks four types of HPV that cause most cervical cancers and genital warts, according to Merck, the manufacturer of Gardasil. According to the Associated Press, Merck has followed the immunity to HPV in women to five years and in men to three years. An FDA advisory panel recommended in September that the FDA approve the expansion of Gardasil use to boys and men.
Friday, the FDA also approved Cervarix, a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, for use in women. Cervarix protects against the same cervical cancer-linked HPV strains as Gardasil, but not the two strains associated with genital warts. It was originally submitted for approval from the FDA in 2007 by SmithKlineGlaxo, but was rejected at that time due to concern that it could lead to miscarriages in pregnant women.
