A research team from the University of Rochester has been awarded a U.S. patent for research essential to both human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines on the market.
U.S. patent No. 8,062,642 is for the creation of virus-like particles that mimic HPV16, the type of HPV that causes the majority of all cancers related to HPV -- including about 50% of cervical cancers, more than 90% of oropharyngeal cancers, and also cancers that affect the vulva, vagina, penis, and anus.
The patent recognizes the work by three University virologists -- Richard Reichman, MD; William Bonnez, MD; and Robert Rose, PhD -- for the discovery that HPV virus-like particles provoke a protective immune response against the HPV types included in current vaccines, according to the university. The team was the first to show that the particles created an immune response capable of preventing infection of human tissue by HPV, and the first to test an HPV vaccine in people.
Both available HPV vaccines -- Gardasil, made by Merck & Co., and Cervarix, made by GlaxoSmithKline -- protect against both HPV16 and HPV18, as well as several other types.
Last month, a U.S. advisory panel recommended that the vaccine be used for boys as well as girls to prevent cancer.
