Gardasil

Introduction

Gardasil, a prophylactic vaccine, was first introduced by Merck and Co. as the first preventive vaccine for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). In the mid 2005 Merck decided to launch this product to help prevent the adverse effects and diseases caused by HPV.

The HPV strain causes two diseases –

1. Genital Warts
2. Cervical Cancer

There are four notable types of HPV strains. They are HPV 6 and 11 which causes 90% of genital warts and HPV 16 and 18 which causes 70% of the cervical cancer. Gardasil was introduced with the mission to PREVENT NOT TREAT these four types of HPV strains.

Genital HPV infection occurs through sexually transmitted activities especially sexual intercourse and sometimes through non-penetrative genital contact. The other competitor in case of HPV prevention is Cervarix, but it only works against HPV types 16 and 18.

Statement of the Problems

Throughout the case, we see that 50% of the sexually active men and women are affected at one point of their time. Also, lack of awareness of these diseases makes women more prone to HPV diseases.

Social stigma is also a problem in this case. This is a very uncomfortable issue for young women and their guardians because it is hard for them to accept that their children will have sexual intercourse possibly by the age of 15 at least.  Religious view is another problem where people are not very supportive of taking vaccines in these cases.

As a result, considering all these barriers, Merck and Co. has identified three different core issues:

1. Whether or not to target women of 9 – 26 age group or create another subset
2. What are the behavioral and communication goals for the target market and stakeholders (Parents, physician and ACIP).
3. Positioning of Gardasil

Segmentation of the Market

According to the case, we have decided to segment the market into three parts;

1. Guardians
2. Physicians
3. Young women within the age group of 13 - 23

• Reasons behind choosing these 3 target markets

1. Guardians - For underage girls who are not capable of understanding the importance of this vaccine, their guardians are the ones who will be making the decision for them. Up until they are of age, all medical related decisions are taken by their guardians. If the product does not appeal to their guardians; most girls might not be vaccinated against HPV diseases.
2. Physicians – Whenever there are medical related problems, people run towards their physicians for help. According to exhibit – 7, it is seen that guardians are more likely to administer vaccine to their children when strongly recommended by physicians. In fact, 45% of them probably would and 34% will definitely want to agree to vaccinate their children. Physicians help people to make decisions in medical cases through their experience in the field. Adults also follow what their physicians advises on these cases. This is why the product has to reach the physicians as well.
3. Young women within 13 - 23 age group – People know what’s best for themselves. One of the main reasons why people are prone to HPV diseases is because of the lack of awareness. Girls themselves have to be aware of these diseases and vaccinate themselves accordingly. Also young adult women are included in this age group where they don’t rely on their guardians anymore. It’s up to them to make their own decisions on such cases.

Competitor Analysis

SWOT

1. Strengths

1. Gardasil works against the HPV as a whole. As a result, both diseases i.e. genital warts AND cervical cancer are both prevented through vaccination.
2. Clinical results have shown that Gardasil has achieved nearly 100% effectiveness.
3. Ob/Gyn physician prefer vaccines which covered both genital warts and cervical cancer rather than one that covered only cervical cancer.

1. Weakness

1. It is very expensive.
2. Gardasil has adverse side effects such as swelling at the injection site and low grade fever.
3. Uses only common adjuvants rather than novel adjuvants.

1. Opportunities

1. This is the only vaccine that works against BOTH genital warts and cervical cancer.
2. Large potential Market
3. New concept of routine vaccination among healthy adolescents and young adults.

1. Threats

1. Rejected by FDA.
2. Lack of social acceptance (Religious views and social stigma)
3. Refusal of vaccination by parents.

Behavioral goals for targeted vaccinees and other stakeholders

1. It’s a potentially life-saving vaccine against cervical cancer.
2. The chances of being diagnosed with HPV is high. Which is why people should vaccinate themselves as soon as possible.
3. Provides prevention at a greater capacity than other drugs and vaccines available in the market.

Communication goals for targeted vaccinees and other stakeholders

1. Creation of awareness against HPV diseases.
2. This is the only vaccine that provides prevention of HPV type 6, 11, 16 AND 18.
3. According to clinical results, Gardasil is almost 100% effective in prevention.
4. It provides immunity for 3 years after vaccination.
5. Vaccination can be taken whenever the people feel they are at risk of being exposed to HPV diseases. The target market was chosen because of high frequency of sexual activity during that age group.

Positioning of Gardasil

According to the case, the managers of Merck is looking for ways to position their product. From the case, we get that Gardasil can be positioned as a prevention drug of the following,