Why Is the HPV Vaccine So Expensive?

Last year the FDA approved Gardasil, a vaccine that wards off two strains of humanpapillomavirus (HPV) that cause 70 percent of all cervical cancers, and the CDCrecommended it for all young women ages 11 to 26. The vaccine promises to savehundreds of thousands of lives, but its hefty price tag—$360 for the threenecessary doses, as well as the cost of a doctor’s visit—may make it inaccessibleto many of those who need it most. Why is the HPV vaccine so expensive? Will italways be this pricey?