MSD Pharmaceuticals Private Limited, the company, which markets Gardasil in India, has said that the vaccine can help put off cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers and genital warts caused by the HPV (human papilloma virus) types 6, 11, 16 and 18, and also provides some protection against 10 other cervical cancers.

The company said that Gardasil is the outcome of more than 10 years of research and development. As part of the thorough scientific vaccine clinical development program, clinical tests reviewing the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine have included over 25,000 women from 33 countries from across the globe.

In India, the Indian Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Immunization (IAPCOI) affirmed that the HPV vaccine was of public health importance and suggested giving it before sexual debut.

In 2006, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices suggested that girls and women between 11-26 years should be inoculated with an HPV vaccine like Gardasil.

Whilst it is tricky to find out the exact number of doses administered, since its debut in 2006, over 55 million doses of the anti-cancer vaccine have been doled out universally as part of the worldwide battle against HPV diseases.

The statement said that MSD checks vaccine safety by carrying out evaluation of unpleasant events reported to MSD and they share these reviews with regulatory and medical authorities worldwide.

The statement added that the Drug Controller-General of India, World Health Organization, the CDC, Health Canada, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), and the Australia Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), among others have recommended the use of Gardasil.